Nigeria

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Nigeria (nījir’ēu) [key], officially Federal Republic of Nigeria, republic (2006 provisional pop. 140,003,542), 356,667 sq mi (923,768 sq km), W Africa. It borders on the Gulf of Guinea (an arm of the Atlantic Ocean) in the south, on Benin in the west, on Niger in the northwest and north, on Chad in the northeast, and on Cameroon in the east. Abuja is the capital and Lagos is the largest city.

Land and People
The Niger River and its tributaries (including the Benue, Kaduna, and Kebbi rivers) drain most of the country. Nigeria has a 500-mile (800-km) coastline, for the most part made up of sandy beaches, behind which lies a belt of mangrove swamps and lagoons that averages 10 mi (16 km) in width but increases to c.60 mi (100 km) wide in the great Niger delta in the east. North of the coastal lowlands is a broad hilly region, with rain forest in the south and savanna in the north. Behind the hills is the great plateau of Nigeria (average elevation 2,000 ft/610 m), a region of plains covered largely with savanna but merging into scrubland in the north. Greater altitudes are attained on the Bauchi and Jos plateaus in the center and in the Adamawa Massif (which continues into Cameroon) in the east, where Nigeria’s highest point (c.6,700 ft/2,040 m) is located.

In addition to Abuja and Lagos, other major cities include Aba, Abeokuta, Ado, Benin, Enugu, Ibadan, Ife, Ilesha, Ilorin, Iwo, Kaduna, Kano, Maiduguri, Mushin, Ogbomosho, Onitsha, Oshogbo, Port Harcourt, and Zaria.

Nigeria is easily the most populous nation in Africa and one of the fastest growing on earth. The inhabitants are divided into about 250 ethnic groups. The largest of these groups are the Hausa and Fulani in the north, the Yoruba in the southwest, and the Igbo in the southeast. Other peoples include the Kanuri, Nupe, and Tiv of the north, the Edo of the south, and the Ibibio-Efik and Ijaw of the southeast. English is the official language, and each ethnic group speaks its own language. About half of the population, living mostly in the north, are Muslim; another 40%, living almost exclusively in the south, are Christian; the rest follow traditional beliefs.

Economy
The economy of Nigeria historically was based on agriculture, and about 70% of the workforce is still engaged in farming (largely of a subsistence type). The chief crops are cocoa, peanuts, palm oil, corn, rice, sorghum, millet, soybeans, cassava, yams, and rubber. In addition, cattle, sheep, goats, and pigs are raised.

Petroleum is the leading mineral produced in Nigeria and provides about 95% of foreign exchange earnings and the majority of government revenues. It is found in the Niger delta and in the bights of Benin and Biafra. Petroleum production on an appreciable scale began in the late 1950s, and by the early 1970s it was by far the leading earner of foreign exchange. The growing oil industry attracted many to urban centers, to the detriment of the agricultural sector. In the 1980s a decline in world oil prices prompted the government to bolster the agricultural sector. Nonetheless, both refinery capacity and agriculture have not kept pace with population growth, forcing the nation to import refined petroleum products and food. Other minerals extracted include tin, iron ore, coal, limestone, columbite, lead, zinc, and gold.

Industry in Nigeria includes the processing of agricultural products and minerals, and the manufacture of textiles, construction materials, footware, chemicals, fertilizer, and steel. Fishing and forestry are also important to the economy, and there is small commercial shipbuilding and repair sector. In addition, traditional woven goods, pottery, metal objects, and carved wood and ivory are produced. Nigeria’s road and rail systems are constructed basically along north-south lines; the country’s chief seaports are Lagos, Warri, Port Harcourt, and Calabar.

Except when oil prices are low, Nigeria generally earns more from exports than it spends on imports. Other important exports include cocoa, rubber, and palm products. The main imports are machinery, chemicals, transportation equipment, manufactured goods, food, and live animals. The United States is by far the largest trading partner, followed by China, Brazil, Spain, and Great Britain.

Government
Nigeria is governed under the constitution of 1999. The president, who is both head of state and head of government, is popularly elected for a four-year term and is eligible for a second term. The bicameral legislature, the National Assembly, consists of the 109-seat Senate and a 360-seat House of Representatives; all legislators are elected by popular vote for four-year terms. Administratively, the country is divided into 36 states and the federal capital territory.

Early History
Little is known of the earliest history of Nigeria. By c.2000 B.C. most of the country was sparsely inhabited by persons who had a rudimentary knowledge of raising domesticated food plants and of herding animals. From c.800 B.C. to c.A.D. 200 the neolithic Nok culture (named for the town where archaeological findings first were made) flourished on the Jos Plateau; the Nok people made fine terra-cotta sculptures and probably knew how to work tin and iron. The first important centralized state to influence Nigeria was Kanem-Bornu, which probably was founded in the 8th cent. A.D., to the north of Lake Chad (outside modern Nigeria). In the 11th cent., by which time its rulers had been converted to Islam, Kanem-Bornu expanded south of Lake Chad into present-day Nigeria, and in the late 15th cent. its capital was moved there.

Beginning in the 11th cent. seven independent Hausa city-states were founded in N Nigeria—Biram, Daura, Gobir, Kano, Katsina, Rano, and Zaria. Kano and Katsina competed for the lucrative trans-Saharan trade with Kanem-Bornu, and for a time had to pay tribute to it. In the early 16th cent. all of Hausaland was briefly held by the Songhai Empire. However, in the late 16th cent., Kanem-Bornu replaced Songhai as the leading power in N Nigeria, and the Hausa states regained their autonomy. In southwest Nigeria two states—Oyo and Benin—had developed by the 14th cent.; the rulers of both states traced their origins to Ife, renowned for its naturalistic terra-cotta and brass sculpture. Benin was the leading state in the 15th cent. but began to decline in the 17th cent., and by the 18th cent. Oyo controlled Yorubaland and also Dahomey. The Igbo people in the southeast lived in small village communities.

In the late 15th cent. Portuguese navigators became the first Europeans to visit Nigeria. They soon began to purchase slaves and agricultural produce from coastal middlemen; the slaves had been captured further inland by the middlemen. The Portuguese were followed by British, French, and Dutch traders. Among the Igbo and Ibibio a number of city-states were established by individuals who had become wealthy by engaging in the slave trade; these included Bonny, Owome, and Okrika.

The Nineteenth Century
There were major internal changes in Nigeria in the 19th cent. In 1804, Usuman dan Fodio (1754–1817), a Fulani and a pious Muslim, began a holy war to reform the practice of Islam in the north. He soon conquered the Hausa city-states, but Bornu, led by Muhammad al-Kanemi (also a Muslim reformer) until 1835, maintained its independence. In 1817, Usuman dan Fodio’s son, Muhammad Bello (d.1837) established a state centered at Sokoto, which controlled most of N Nigeria until the coming of the British (1900–1906). Under both Usuman dan Fodio and Muhammad Bello, Muslim culture, and also trade, flourished in the Fulani empire. In Bornu, Muhammad al-Kanemi was succeeded by Umar (reigned 1835–80), under whom the empire disintegrated.

In 1807, Great Britain abandoned the slave trade; however, other countries continued it until about 1875. Meanwhile, many African middlemen turned to selling palm products, which were Nigeria’s chief export by the middle of the century. In 1817 a long series of civil wars began in the Oyo Empire; they lasted until 1893 (when Britain intervened), by which time the empire had disintegrated completely.

In order to stop the slave trade there, Britain annexed Lagos in 1861. In 1879, Sir George Goldie gained control of all the British firms trading on the Niger, and in the 1880s he took over two French companies active there and signed treaties with numerous African leaders. Largely because of Goldie’s efforts, Great Britain was able to claim S Nigeria at the Conference of Berlin (see Berlin, Conference of) held in 1884–85.

In the following years, the British established their rule in SW Nigeria, partly by signing treaties (as in the Lagos hinterland) and partly by using force (as at Benin in 1897). Jaja, a leading African trader based at Opobo in the Niger delta and strongly opposed to European competition, was captured in 1887 and deported. Goldie’s firm, given (1886) a British royal charter, as the Royal Niger Company, to administer the Niger River and N Nigeria, antagonized Europeans and Africans alike by its monopoly of trade on the Niger; in addition, it was not sufficiently powerful to gain effective control over N Nigeria, which was also sought by the French.

Colonialism
In 1900 the Royal Niger Company’s charter was revoked and British forces under Frederick Lugard began to conquer the north, taking Sokoto in 1903. By 1906, Britain controlled Nigeria, which was divided into the Colony (i.e., Lagos) and Protectorate of Southern Nigeria and the Protectorate of Northern Nigeria. In 1914 the two regions were amalgamated and the Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria was established.

The administration of Nigeria was based on a system devised by Lugard and called “indirect rule”; under this system, Britain ruled through existing political institutions rather than establishing a wholly new administrative network. In some areas (especially the southeast) new African officials (resembling the traditional rulers in other parts of the country) were set up; in most cases they were not accepted by the mass of the people and were able to rule only because British power stood behind them. All important decisions were made by the British governor, and the African rulers, partly by being associated with the colonialists, soon lost most of their traditional authority. Occasionally (as in Aba in 1929) discontent with colonial rule flared into open protest.

Under the British, railroads and roads were built and the production of cash crops, such as palm nuts and kernels, cocoa, cotton, and peanuts, was encouraged. The country became more urbanized as Lagos, Ibadan, Kano, Onitsha, and other cities grew in size and importance. From 1922, African representatives from Lagos and Calabar were elected to the legislative council of Southern Nigeria; they constituted only a small minority, and Africans otherwise continued to have no role in the higher levels of government. Self-help groups organized on ethnic lines were established in the cities. A small Western-educated elite developed in Lagos and a few other southern cities.

In 1947, Great Britain promulgated a constitution that gave the traditional authorities a greater voice in national affairs. The Western-educated elite was excluded, and, led by Herbert Macaulay and Nnamdi Azikiwe, its members vigorously denounced the constitution. As a result, a new constitution, providing for elected representation on a regional basis, was instituted in 1951.

Three major political parties emerged—the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons (NCNC; from 1960 known as the National Convention of Nigerian Citizens), led by Azikiwe and largely based among the Igbo; the Action Group, led by Obafemi Awolowo and with a mostly Yoruba membership; and the Northern People’s Congress (NPC), led by Ahmadu Bello and based in the north. The constitution proved unworkable by 1952, and a new one, solidifying the division of Nigeria into three regions (Eastern, Western, and Northern) plus the Federal Territory of Lagos, came into force in 1954. In 1956 the Eastern and Western regions became internally self-governing, and the Northern region achieved this status in 1959.

Independence and Internal Conflict
With Nigerian independence scheduled for 1960, elections were held in 1959. No party won a majority, and the NPC combined with the NCNC to form a government. Nigeria attained independence on Oct. 1, 1960, with Abubakar Tafawa Balewa of the NPC as prime minister and Azikiwe of the NCNC as governor-general; when Nigeria became a republic in 1963, Azikiwe was made president.

The first years of independence were characterized by severe conflicts within and between regions. In the Western region, a bloc of the Action Group split off (1962) under S. I. Akintola to form the Nigerian National Democratic party (NNDP); in 1963 the Mid-Western region (whose population was mostly Edo) was formed from a part of the Western region. National elections late in 1964 were hotly contested, with an NPC-NNDP coalition (called the National Alliance) emerging victorious.

In Jan., 1966, Igbo army officers staged a successful coup, which resulted in the deaths of Federal Prime Minister Balewa, Northern Prime Minister Ahmadu Bello, and Western Prime Minister S. I. Akintola. Maj. Gen. Johnson T. U. Aguiyi-Ironsi, an Igbo, became head of a military government and suspended the national and regional constitutions; this met with a violent reaction in the north. In July, 1966, a coup led by Hausa army officers ousted Ironsi (who was killed) and placed Lt. Col. Yakubu Gowon at the head of a new military regime. In Sept., 1966, many Igbo living in the north were massacred.

Gowon attempted to start Nigeria along the road to civilian government but met determined resistance from the Igbo, who were becoming increasingly fearful of their position within Nigeria. In May, 1967, the Eastern parliament gave Lt. Col. Chukwuemeka O. Ojukwu, the region’s leader, authority to declare the region an independent republic. Gowon proclaimed a state of emergency, and, as a gesture to the Igbos, redivided Nigeria into 12 states (including one, the East-Central state, that comprised most of the Igbo people). However, on May 30, Ojukwu proclaimed the independent Republic of Biafra, and in July fighting broke out between Biafra and Nigeria.

Biafra made some advances early in the war, but soon federal forces gained the initiative. After much suffering, Biafra capitulated on Jan. 15, 1970, and the secession ended. The early 1970s were marked by reconstruction in areas that were formerly part of Biafra, by the gradual reintegration of the Igbo into national life, and by a slow return to civilian rule.

Modern Nigeria
Spurred by the booming petroleum industry, the Nigerian economy quickly recovered from the effects of civil war and made impressive advances. Nonetheless, inflation and high unemployment remained, and the oil boom led to government corruption and uneven distribution of wealth. Nigeria joined the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries in 1971. The prolonged drought that desiccated the Sahel region of Africa in the early 1970s had a profound effect on N Nigeria, resulting in a migration of peoples into the less arid areas and into the cities of the south.

Gowon’s regime was overthrown in 1975 by Gen. Murtala Muhammad and a group of officers who pledged a return to civilian rule. In the mid-1970s plans were approved for a new capital to be built at Abuja, a move that drained the national economy. Muhammad was assassinated in an attempted coup one year after taking office and succeeded by Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo. In a crisis brought on by rapidly falling oil revenues, the government restricted public opposition to the regime, controlled union activity and student movements, nationalized land, and increased oil industry regulation. Nigeria sought Western support under Obasanjo while supporting African nationalist movements.

In 1979 elections were held under a new constitution, bringing Alhaji Shehu Shagari to the presidency. Relations with the United States reached a new high in 1979 with a visit by President Jimmy Carter. The government expelled thousands of foreign laborers in 1983, citing social disturbances as the reason. The same year, Shagari was reelected president but overthrown after only a few months in office.

In 1985 a coup led by Maj. Gen. Ibrahim Babangida brought a new regime to power, along with the promise of a return to civilian rule. A new constitution was promulgated in 1990, which set national elections for 1992. Babangida annulled the results of that presidential election, claiming fraud. A new election in 1993 ended in the apparent presidential victory of Moshood Abiola, but Babangida again alleged fraud. Soon unrest led to Babangida’s resignation. Ernest Shonekan, a civilian appointed as interim leader, was forced out after three months by Gen. Sani Abacha, a long-time ally of Babangida, who became president and banned all political institutions and labor unions. In 1994, Abiola was arrested and charged with treason.

In 1995, Abacha extended military rule for three more years, while proposing a program for a return to civilian rule after that period; his proposal was rejected by opposition leaders, but five political parties were established in 1996. The Abacha regime drew international condemnation in late 1995 when Ken Saro-Wiwa, a prominent writer, and eight other human-rights activists were executed; the trial was condemned by human-rights groups and led to Nigeria’s suspension from the Commonwealth of Nations. Also in 1995, a number of army officers, including former head of state General Obasanjo, were arrested in connection with an alleged coup attempt. In 1996, Kudirat Abiola, an activist on behalf of her imprisoned husband, was murdered.

Abacha died suddenly in June, 1998, and was succeeded by Gen. Abdulsalam Abubakar, who immediately freed Obasanjo and other political prisoners. Riots followed the announcement that Abiola had also died unexpectedly in July, 1998, while in detention. Abubakar then announced an election timetable leading to a return to civilian rule within a year. All former political parties were disbanded and new ones formed. A series of local, state, and federal elections were held between Dec., 1998, and Feb., 1999, culminating in the presidential contest, won by General Obasanjo. The elections were generally deemed fair by international monitors. The People’s Democratic party (PDP; the centrist party of General Obasanjo) dominated the elections; the other two leading parties were the Alliance for Democracy (a Yoruba party of the southwest, considered to be progressive), and the All People’s party (a conservative party based in the north).

Following Obasanjo’s inauguration on May 29, 1999, Nigeria was readmitted to the Commonwealth. The new president said he would combat past and present corruption in the Nigerian government and army and develop the impoverished Niger Delta area. Although there was some progress economically, government and political corruption remained a problem and the country was confronted with renewed ethnic and religious tension. The latter was in part a result of the institution of Islamic law in Nigeria’s northern states, and led to violence (continuing into 2004) in which an estimated 10,000 people have died since the end of military rule. Army lawlessness has also been a problem in some areas. A small success was achieved in Apr., 2002, when Abacha’s family agreed to return $1 billion to the government; the government had sought an estimated $4 billion in looted Nigerian assets.

In Mar., 2003, the Ijaw, accusing the Itsekiri, government, and oil companies of economic and political collusion against them, began militia attacks against Itsekiri villages and oil facilities in the Niger delta, leading to a halt in the delta’s oil production for several weeks and military intervention by the government. The presidential and earlier legislative elections in Apr., 2003, were won by President Obasanjo and his party, but the results were marred by vote rigging and some violence. The opposition protested the results, and unsuccessfully challenged the presidential election in court. The Ijaw-Itsekiri conflict continued into 2004, but a peace deal was reached in mid-June. The Ijaw backed out of the agreement, however, three weeks later. Christian-Muslim tensions also continued to be a problem in 2004, with violent attacks occurring in Kebbi, Kano, and Plateau states.

Obasanjo’s government appeared to move more forcefully against government corruption in early 2005. Several government ministers were fired on corruption charges, and the senate speaker resigned after he was accused of taking bribes. A U.S. investigation targeted Nigeria’s vice president the same year, and Obasanjo himself agreed to be investigated by the Nigerian financial crimes commission when he was accused of corruption by Orji Uzor Kalu, the governor of Abia and a target of a corruption investigation. Ijaw militants again threatened Niger delta oil operations in Sept., 2005, and several times in subsequent years, resulting in cuts in Nigeria’s oil production as large as 25% at times. Since early 2006 the Niger Delta area has seen an increase in kidnappings of foreign oil workers and attacks on oil operations. In Oct., 2005, the government reached an agreement to pay off much of its foreign debt at a discount, a process that was completed in Apr., 2006.

The end of 2005 and early 2006 saw increased contention over whether to amend the constitution to permit the president and state governors to run for more than two terms. The idea had been rejected in July, 2005, by a national political reform conference, but senators reviewing the conference’s proposals indicated they supported an end to term limits. The change was opposed by Vice President Atiku Abubakar, but other PDP leaders who objected were removed from their party posts. A census—a contentious event because of ethnic and religious divisions in Nigeria—was taken in Mar., 2006, but the head count was marred by a lack of resources and a number of violent clashes, and many Nigerians were believed to have been left uncounted. In May the Nigerian legislature ended consideration of a third presidential term when it became clear that there was insufficient support for amending the constitution. Nigeria agreed in June, 2006, to turn over the Bakassi peninsula to Cameroon after a two-year transition period.

In July the vice president denied taking bribes from a U.S. congressman, but in September the president called for the Nigerian senate to remove the vice president from office for fraud, based on an investigation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). The senate agreed to investigate the charges, and the PDP suspended the vice president, blocking him from seeking the party’s presidential nomination. Abubakar counteraccused Obasanjo of corruption. The EFCC was also investigating most of Nigeria’s state governors, but the commission itself was tainted by charges that it was used for political retaliation by Obasanjo and his allies. Several state governors were impeached by legally unsound proceedings, moves that were seen as an attempt by Obasanjo to tighten his control prior to the 2007 presidential election.

When the vice president accepted (Dec., 2006) the presidential nomination of a group of opposition parties, the president accused him of technically resigning and sought to have him removed, an action Abubakar challenged in court; the government backed down the following month, and the courts later sided with Abubakar. In Jan., 2007, the results of the 2006 census were released, and they proved as divisive as previous Nigerian censuses. The census showed that the largely Muslim north had more inhabitants that the south, and many southern political leaders vehemently rejected the results.

In February, the EFCC declared Abubakar and more than 130 other candidates for the April elections unfit due to corruption, and the election commission barred those candidates from running. Abubakar fought the move in court, but the ruling was not overturned until days before the presidential election. The state elections were marred by widespread and blatant vote fraud and intimidation, but the election commission certified nearly all the results, handing gubernatorial victories to the PDP in 27 states. In the presidential election, Umaru Yar’Adua, the relatively unknown governor of Katsina state who was hand-picked by Obasanjo to be the PDP candidate, was declared the winner with 70% of the vote, but fraud and intimidation were so blatant that EU observers called the election a “charade” and the president was forced to admit it was “flawed.” Nonetheless, Yar’Adua’s inauguration (May) marked the first transition of power between two elected civilian presidents in Nigeria’s post-colonial history. Yar’Adua subsequently moved to reorganize and reform the national petroleum company, and the federal government has not interfered with challenges in the courts to state elections. Also in April there was battling between the army and Islamic militants in Kano state after the militants attacked the police there.

Source:InfoPlease

South Africa

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Source: Southafrica Info

History of South Africa
If the history of South Africa is in large part one of increasing racial divisiveness, today it can also be seen as the story of – eventually – a journey through massive obstacles towards the creation, from tremendous diversity, of a single nation whose dream of unity and common purpose is now capable of realisation.

The earliest people
The earliest representatives of South Africa’s diversity – at least the earliest we can name – were the San and Khoekhoe peoples (otherwise known individually as the Bushmen and Hottentots or Khoikhoi; collectively called the Khoisan). Both were resident in the southern tip of the continent for thousands of years before its written history began with the arrival of European seafarers.

And before that, modern human beings had lived here for more than 100 000 years – indeed, the country is an archaeological treasure chest.

The hunter-gatherer San ranged widely over the area; the pastoral Khoekhoe lived in those comparatively well-watered areas, chiefly along the southern and western coastal strips, where adequate grazing was to be found. So it was with the latter that the early European settlers first came into contact – much to the disadvantage of the Khoekhoe.

As a result of diseases such as smallpox imported by the Europeans, of some assimilation with the settlers and especially with the slaves who were to arrive in later years, and of some straightforward extermination, the Khoekhoe have effectively disappeared as an identifiable group.

Other long-term inhabitants of the area that was to become South Africa were the Bantu-speaking people who had moved into the north-eastern and eastern regions from the north, starting at least many hundreds of years before the arrival of the Europeans.

The Thulamela site in the northern Kruger National Park is estimated to have been first occupied in the 13th century. The ruins of Mapungubwe, where artefacts from as far away as China have been found, are the remains of a large trading settlement thought to stretch back to the 12th century. Agro-pastoralists, these people brought with them an Iron Age culture and sophisticated socio-political systems.

Settlers and slaves
Their existence was of little import to Jan van Riebeeck and the 90 men who landed with him in 1652 at the Cape of Good Hope, under instructions by the Dutch East India Company to build a fort and develop a vegetable garden for the benefit of ships on the Eastern trade route.

Their relationship with the Khoekhoe was initially one of bartering, but a mutual animosity developed over issues such as cattle theft – and, no doubt, the growing suspicion on the part of the Khoekhoe that Van Riebeeck’s outpost was becoming a threat to them.

Perhaps the first sign that the threat was to be realised came in 1657 when nine men, released from their contracts, were given land to farm. In the same year the first slaves were imported. By the time Van Riebeeck left in 1662, 250 white people lived in what was beginning to look like a developing colony.

Later governors of the Cape Colony encouraged immigration, and in the early 1700s independent farmers called trekboers began to push north and east. Inevitably, the Khoisan started literally losing ground, in addition to being pressed by difficult circumstances into service for the colonists.

The descendants of some of the Khoisan, slaves from elsewhere in Africa and the East, and white colonists formed the basis of the mixed-race group now known as “coloured”. It is noteworthy that the slaves from the East brought a potent new ingredient to South Africa’s racial and cultural mix, especially with their religion of Islam.

As the colonists began moving east, they encountered the Xhosa-speaking people living in the region that is today’s Eastern Cape. A situation of uneasy trading and more or less continuous warfare began to develop.

By this time, the second half of the 18th century, the colonists – mainly of Dutch, German and French Huguenot stock – had begun to lose their sense of identification with Europe. The Afrikaner nation was coming into being.

As a result of developments in Europe, the British took the Cape over from the Dutch in 1795. Seven years later, the colony was returned to the Dutch government, only to come under British rule again in 1806, recaptured because of the alliance between Holland and Napoleon.

The initially somewhat cautious regulations aimed at ameliorating the conditions under which, for instance, Khoi servants were employed, caused discontent and even open rebellion among the colony’s white inhabitants.

The Cape frontier wars
At the same time, British military strength began to tell in the conflict with the Xhosa. In 1820, some 5 000 newly arrived British settlers were placed on the eastern frontier as a supposed defensive buffer against the Xhosa – a strategy that failed when many of them gave up the struggle with uncooperative land and turned to other occupations in Port Elizabeth and Grahamstown.

The Xhosa reacted with heroic defiance at the additional pressure on their land and independence. But this ended tragically with the mass starvation that followed an 1857 prophecy that the whites would return to the sea if the Xhosa slaughtered their cattle and destroyed their crops.

After 1806, philanthropist missionaries had begun arriving, their liberalising influence reaching its high point in the activities of John Philip, friend of the British abolitionist William Wilberforce and local superintendent of the London Missionary Society.

The Great Trek
This development and, in particular, the emancipation of slaves in 1834, had dramatic effects on the colony, precipitating the Great Trek, an emigration north and east of about 12 000 discontented Afrikaner farmers, or Boers. These people were determined to live independently of colonial rule and what they saw as unacceptable racial egalitarianism.

The early decades of the century had seen another event of huge significance: the rise to power of the great Zulu king, Shaka. His wars of conquest and those of Mzilikazi – a general who broke away from Shaka on a northern path of conquest – caused a calamitous disruption of the interior known as the mfecane.

Ironically, it was this that denuded much of the area into which Trekkers now moved, enabling them to settle there with a belief that they were occupying vacant territory. But this belief was by no means accompanied by an absence of conflict with the Zulu armies and others.

Initially, many Trekkers moved east into the Natal area, today the province of KwaZulu-Natal, under the leadership of Piet Retief. Intending to negotiate for land, Retief was murdered with a party of followers and servants at the kraal of Dingane, Shaka’s successor.

The Battle of Blood River
In the war that followed, the Boers won victory at the Battle of Blood River. They began to settle in Natal, but smaller conflicts followed and the British – fearing repercussions in the Cape Colony – annexed Natal, where a small British settlement called Port Natal (later Durban) had already been established.

On the highveld, however, two Boer republics were formed: the central Orange Free State and South African Republic (Transvaal or ZAR – Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek) to its north.

By the mid-1800s, the tiny refreshment post at the Cape of Good Hope had grown into an area of white settlement that stretched over virtually all of what is today South Africa.

In some areas the indigenous Bantu-speakers maintained their independence, most notably in the northern Natal territories, which were still unmistakably the kingdom of the Zulu. Almost all were eventually to lose the struggle against white overlordship – British or Boer.

One territory that was to retain independence was the mountain fastness where King Moshoeshoe had forged the Basotho nation by offering refuge to tribes fleeing the mfecane. Clashing with the Free Staters, Moshoeshoe asked Britain to annex Basotholand, which was done in 1868. Known today as Lesotho, this country is entirely surrounded by South Africa, but has never been a part of it.

The Cape Colony was granted representative legislature in 1853 and self-government in 1872. Between these two dates, a dramatic new element was introduced to the economic, and consequently political, balance – the discovery of diamonds and subsequent establishment of Kimberley.

For the first time it became evident that there was wealth for the taking in the subcontinent. Rival claims by the Orange Free State, the ZAR and Nicholas Waterboer, chief of the West Griquas – a community of mixed race – were defeated and the area was incorporated into the Cape Colony in 1880.

As a British territory, it was a perfect proving ground for the young Cecil John Rhodes, one of the many thousands to be attracted by the diggings, and one who made his fortune there.

The colony had taken tentative steps towards political equality among the races. The franchise was based on economic qualifications, non-racial in theory but excluding the vast majority of African and coloured people in practice. Among those who did qualify, many became politically active across colour lines. The promise existed of progress towards full political inclusion of the population.

Natal, and the Battle of Isandhlwana
The Colony of Natal, however, was developing along somewhat different lines, the size of the Zulu nation assuming threatening proportions to the colonists. Reserves were created under traditional African law for refugees from Zulu might; outside those reserves, British law held sway. As almost all blacks were deemed to fall under the rule of the chiefs in the reserves, almost none had any chance of political rights outside their borders.

Economically, Natal had the advantage of being ideal for the cultivation of sugar cane. The consequent labour requirements led to the importation of indentured labourers from India, many of whom – in spite of discrimination – remained in the country after their contracts had expired: the forebears of today’s significant and influential Indian population.

The late 19th century was an area of aggressive colonial expansion, and the Zulus were bound to come under pressure. But they were not to prove easy pickings. Under King Cetshwayo, they delivered resounding proof at Isandhlwana in 1879 that the British army was not invincible.

However, they were defeated in the following year, leading to Zululand eventually being incorporated into Natal in 1897.


Gold and War 
Britain achieved a temporary expansion of its southern African rule in the politically unstable north, where the unpopularity of President TF Burgers opened the way for Britain to annex the Transvaal in 1877. It lost control again after a rebellion that dealt another blow to the military pride of the empire at Majuba.

The eventual resolution was the granting of qualified independence in 1881 and full internal autonomy in 1884 – by which time the conservative and intensely pro-Afrikaner Paul Kruger had been elected president of the restored, but financially strapped, republic.

Two years later, when gold was discovered on the Witwatersrand, Kruger presided over a financial turnaround of spectacular proportions – but he also saw a serious threat to Afrikaner independence develop as huge numbers of newcomers, mostly British, descended on the gold fields.

Without urgent action, these people (the uitlanders, or foreigners) would soon qualify for the vote. The response was to create stringent franchise qualifications, an action which, with its 14-year residence stipulation, would at least postpone the difficulty.

Rhodes and the Jameson Raid
In the Cape, however, Cecil John Rhodes had become Prime Minister. His overriding vision of a federation of British-controlled states in southern Africa was well served by the growing discontent of the uitlanders and exasperation of the mining magnates in the ZAR.

Rhodes’ first attempt at takeover, however, came to an ignominious end when his plan to have Leander Starr Jameson lead a raid into Johannesburg in response to a planned uitlander uprising failed. The uprising did not happen: Jameson rode precipitously into the Transvaal and had to surrender. Rhodes resigned.

The Jameson Raid had a polarising effect. Afrikaners in the Cape and the Orange Free State, though disapproving of Kruger in many ways, became more sympathetic to his anti-British stance. The Orange Free State, under President MT Steyn, formed a military alliance with the Transvaal.

The Anglo-Boer War
In Britain, however, Rhodes and Jameson were popular heroes. It kept up the pressure on Kruger, and the Anglo-Boer/South African War began in October 1899. Up to half a million British soldiers squared up against some 65 000 Boers; black South Africans were pulled into the conflict on both sides.

Again, Britain’s military reputation suffered a blow as the Boers set siege to Ladysmith, Kimberley and Mafeking (Mafikeng – home at the time to a young black diarist named Sol Plaatje, whose initially pro-British attitudes were to be severely shaken by the shameful treatment of the town’s black inhabitants during the siege).

Under Major General Herbert Kitchener and Field Marshal Sir Frederick Sleigh Roberts, however, the British offensive gained force, and by 1900 Bloemfontein, Johannesburg and Pretoria were occupied. Kruger fled for Europe.

The Boer reply was to intensify guerilla war – General Jan Smuts, who had been Kruger’s state attorney, led his troops to within 190 kilometres of Cape Town – and in response Kitchener adopted a scorched-earth policy and set up racially separate civilian concentration camps in which some 26 000 Boer women and children and 14 000 black and coloured people were to die in appalling conditions.

The war ended in Boer defeat at the Peace of Vereeniging in 1902.

Union and ANC
Many blacks saw the British victory in the Anglo-Boer war as the hoped-for opportunity to put all four colonies on an equal and just footing, but the treaty left their franchise rights to be decided by the white authorities. The ex-Boer republics retained the whites-only franchise.

In 1909 a delegation appointed by the South African Native Convention, including representatives of the coloured and Indian populations, went to London to plead the case of the country’s black population.

But when the Union of South Africa came into being on 31 May 1910, the only province with a non-racial franchise was the Cape, and blacks were barred from being members of parliament. Of the estimated 6-million inhabitants of the Union in that year, 67% were black African, 9% coloured and 2.5% Asian.

The South African Party, a merging of the previous Afrikaner parties, held power under the premiership of General Louis Botha.

The 1913 Land Act and the ANC
Repressive measures to entrench white power were not long in coming – the Masters and Servants Act, the reservation of skilled work for whites, pass laws, the Native Poll Tax and the 1913 Land Act which reserved 90% of the country for white ownership.

By the time this Act was passed, the African National Congress (ANC) had come into being on January 8 1912, in Bloemfontein, in an act of unity joining an educated elite, the rural classes and tribal structures. The committee included Sol Plaatje as secretary; the first president of the ANC was the Rev John L Dube. Both formed part of a second unsuccessful delegation to London, this time to protest the land grab.

Resistance started to assume a more outspoken and militant form, especially when several hundred black women marched in Bloemfontein to protest against being forced to buy passes every month. Similar protests were held in other places, and participants arrested. The women were harshly treated in jail.

Mohandas Gandhi
The Indian community were also suffering under viciously racist treatment – in 1891 they had been expelled from the Orange Free State altogether. Mohandas Gandhi, then a young lawyer who had arrived in South Africa in 1892, had become a leading figure in Indian resistance.

The struggle against the £3 Indian poll tax in Natal involved a mass strike in which a number of Indians were killed, but achieved success when the tax was removed in 1914 – the year Gandhi, then known as Mahatma, left the country.

Afrikaner polarisation
In the white camp, Botha and Smuts were in favour of reconciliation with English South Africans. But they did not represent the whole of the embittered Afrikaner nation, and JBM Hertzog formed the more conservative Nationalist Party. Afrikaner polarisation assumed dramatic form when South Africa entered the First World War in support of Britain and anti-British Afrikaners unsuccessfully rebelled.

Still hoping for support from the British government – there had been further delegations – the ANC supported involvement in the war and unknown numbers of black soldiers died.

(South Africa gained control over the previously German-held South West Africa – now Namibia – as a result of the war; the territory became a Union mandate.)

Black workers, white workers
With the inspiration of the October Revolution in Russia, the post-war period was marked by strike action. In 1918, a million black mine workers went on strike for higher wages, and 71 000 did the same in 1920 – the latter strike successfully extracting a wage increase.

Between those strikes, 1919 saw the formation of the Industrial and Commercial Workers’ Union of South Africa and the convening of the South African Indian Congress. In the same year, Botha died and Smuts became Prime Minister.

If official (white) South Africa was taking its place in the wider world as a result of the First World War, the ANC was beginning to see itself as part of the wider African efforts against colonialism in Africa. In its 1918 constitution it referred to itself as a “Pan African Association” and the organisation attended the second congress of the international Pan African Movement in 1921 (not to be confused with the later South African Pan-Africanist Congress).

Another strike was looming on the mines – by a different group of miners. Rising costs and a falling gold price led the Chamber of Mines to allow the lower-paid African miners to do semi-skilled work. White miners reacted violently in a 1922 strike, militarily suppressed by Smuts. Hertzog’s Nationalists found increased support in the white Labour Party, and an election pact saw Smuts ousted and Hertzog as Prime Minister in 1924.

The next decade saw Hertzog successfully working for increased independence from British control and greater job reservation security for whites. Franchise acts extended the vote to all white men and women, but left the still existing black vote in the Cape restricted to men.

Birth of the Nationalist Party
The government’s popularity with its voters declined, however, with economic depression in the early 1930s, forcing Hertzog into a Smuts coalition government in 1933 (the year before South Africa became independent from Great Britain). Their parties fused as the United Party, but Hertzog’s move was balanced by the breaking away on the right of DF Malan’s new Nationalist Party as a political home for the more extreme Afrikaner nationalists.

Not that the new government displayed any noticeable leftist tendencies: in 1936 black Cape voters were removed from the common roll; in the following year laws were passed to stem black urbanisation and compel municipalities to segregate black African and white residents.

The Hertzog-Smuts coalition fell apart with the Second World War, Smuts winning the power battle to form a government that took South Africa into the war. Afrikaner opposition to the war strengthened Malan’s support base.

ANC Youth League, Natal Indian Congress
At the same time, developments in the ANC symbolically marked the start of what was to be nearly 50 years of head-to-head conflict between that organisation and the Nationalist Party. In April 1944 the ANC Youth League was formed. Its first president was AM Lembede (who died three years later); Nelson Mandela was its secretary. Oliver Tambo and Walter Sisulu were among those who came to the fore as the influence of the Youth League in the broader ANC increased.

It was a time of rapid industrial expansion, but skilled work remained the domain of whites. On the other hand, the black influx into urban areas combined with the continuing repression strengthened black resistance. A Bill introduced by Smuts in 1946, for instance, aimed at curtailing the movement, residence and property ownership of Indians led to mass defiance and the rapid expansion of the Natal Indian Congress.

Apartheid entrenched
The ideals of the United Nations cast a spotlight on the country’s racial inequity, and the first of many attacks on the country in the General Assembly came from the Indian government in 1946.

The Nationalist Party, however, was gathering strength and, in a surprise result, gained power in the 1948 election – power that it would not relinquish until 1994. Apartheid became official government ideology.

The 1950s were to bring increasingly repressive laws against black South Africans and its obvious corollary – increasing resistance.

The Group Areas Act, rigidifying the racial division of land, and the Population Registration Act, which classified all citizens by race, were passed in 1950. The pass laws, restricting black movement, came in 1952. The Separate Amenities Act of 1953 introduced “petty apartheid” segregation, for example, on buses and in post offices. In that year Malan retired and JG Strijdom became Prime Minister.

The Defiance Campaign
In reaction to all this came the mass mobilisation of the Defiance Campaign, starting in 1952. Based on non-violent resistance, it nevertheless led to the jailing of thousands of participants.

The result was to increase unity among resistance groups with the forming of the Congress Alliance, which included black, coloured, Indian and white resistance organisations as well as the South African Congress of Trade Unions.

In 1954 a campaign against the deliberately inferior Bantu Education System was launched.

The Freedom Charter
The following year saw two of the most significant events of the decade.

One established how far the government was willing to go to pursue its aims. Unable to gain the two-thirds majority required by the 1910 constitution to remove coloureds from the common voters’ roll, the government changed the composition of the Senate by increasing its size (and consequently Nationalist majority) to give it the required majority in a joint sitting of the Senate and the House of Assembly.

The second watershed moment came when, after an ANC campaign to gather mass input on freedom demands, the Freedom Charter – based on the principles of human rights and non-racialism – was signed on June 26 1955 at the Congress of the People in Soweto.

Reaction was swift: the following year 156 leaders of the ANC and its allies were charged with high treason. The longest trial in South African history was to lead to the acquittal of all accused in 1961.

Strijdom died in 1958, to be succeeded by HF Verwoerd. The following year representatives of black Africans were removed from both houses of parliament and the Cape provincial council.

On the other side of the political fence, the Pan-Africanist Congress (PAC), founded by Robert Sobukwe, broke away from the Congress Alliance.

The stage was set for the even more polarised 1960s.

The 1950s had still offered many opportunities to resolve South Africa’s racial injustices peacefully. This, however, was contrary to official ideology. Instead, apartheid transmuted itself into the policy of “separate development”: the division of the black population into ethnic “nations”, each of which was to have its own “homeland” and eventual “independence”.

The Sharpeville Massacre
A turning point came at Sharpeville on March 21 1960 when a PAC-organised passive anti-pass campaign came to a bloody conclusion with police killing 69 unarmed protesters. A State of Emergency was declared: detention without trial was introduced and the ANC, PAC and other organisations were declared illegal. The resistance groups went underground.

South Africa’s isolation increased in 1961 when, following a white referendum, South Africa became a republic and Verwoerd took it out of the Commonwealth. A general strike was called to coincide with the May 31 institution of the republic.

At the end of that year, Umkhonto we Sizwe (The Spear of the Nation), emerged with acts of sabotage against government installations. Originally formed by a group of individuals within the ANC, including Mandela, it was to become that organisation’s armed wing.

A new stage of international pressure began when the UN General Assembly called on its members to institute economic sanctions against South Africa. Mandela, in the meanwhile, had travelled through Africa making contact with numerous leaders. Going underground on his return, he was arrested in Natal in August 1962 and received a three-year sentence for incitement.

The Rivonia Trial
In July 1963 a police raid on the Rivonia farm Lilliesleaf led to the arrest of several of Mandela’s senior ANC colleagues, including Walter Sisulu. They were charged with sabotage, Mandela being brought from prison to stand trial with them. All were sentenced in 1964 to life imprisonment and taken to Robben Island.

In September 1966 BJ Vorster became Prime Minister after the assassination in parliament of Verwoerd. Segregation became even more strictly enforced. Reeling under the blow of the “Rivonia Trial”, the ANC nevertheless continued to operate, regrouping at the Morogoro Conference in Tanzania in 1969.

The first half of the next decade was marked by increasing repression, increasing militancy in the resistance camp, and extensive strikes.

June 16, 1976
The moment of truth came on June 16, 1976, when the youth of Soweto marched against being taught in the medium of Afrikaans. Police fired on them, precipitating a massive flood of violence that overwhelmed the country.

Nevertheless, an attempt was made to further the “homeland” policy, with Transkei being the first to accept nominal independence later that year.

A new movement known as Black Consciousness had become increasingly influential. The death as a result of police brutality of its charismatic founder, Steve Biko, shocked the world in 1977.

PW Botha, who became Prime Minister in 1978 after Vorster’s retirement, tried to co-opt the coloured and Indian population in the early 1980s with a new constitution establishing a Tricameral Parliament, with separate houses for these groups. The constitution also did away with the post of Prime Minister and provided for an executive State President.

Opposition came from both left and right, a section of the right wing splitting off from the National Party. The United Democratic Front, an internal coalition of anti-apartheid groups, organised highly successful boycotts of the coloured and Indian elections in 1984.

State of emergency
There was a further escalation of violence, with the country being governed – as far as it was governable – under a state of emergency in a spiral of revolution and repression. International sanctions increased.

Among the other organisations in the spotlight at this time were the trade union body Cosatu and Chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi’s Inkatha, the latter involved in bloody conflict with pro-ANC factions.

1989 was the year in which the logjam started to break up. Negotiations had been entered into between Mandela and PW Botha, but these were secret. Dissension within the Nationalist Party, in combination with Botha’s ill health, led to his resignation, and he was replaced by FW de Klerk.

After an election in September, De Klerk released Walter Sisulu and seven other political prisoners.

The death of Apatheid 

On February 2 1990, FW de Klerk lifted restrictions on 33 opposition groups, including the ANC, the PAC and the Communist Party, at the opening of Parliament. On February 11 Mandela, who had maintained a tough negotiating stance on the issue, was released after 27 years in prison.

The piecemeal dismantling of restrictive legislation began. Political groups started negotiating the ending of white minority rule, and in early 1992 the white electorate endorsed De Klerk’s stance on these negotiations in a referendum.

Violence continued unabated, a massacre at the township of Boipatong causing the ANC to withdraw temporarily from constitutional talks.

In 1993, however, an agreement was reached on a Government of National Unity which would allow a partnership of the old regime and the new.

The optimism generated by the negotiations was shattered by the assassination of Chris Hani, the secretary-general of the Communist Party: only a prompt appeal to the nation by Mandela averted a massive reaction. At the end of the year an interim constitution was agreed to by 21 political parties.

First democratic elections
South Africa’s first democratic election was held on 26, 27 and 28 April 1994, with victory going to the ANC in an alliance with the Communist Party and Cosatu. Nelson Mandela was sworn in as President on May 10 with FW de Klerk and the ANC’s Thabo Mbeki as Deputy Presidents.

Mandela’s presidency was characterised by the successful negotiation of a new constitution; a start on the massive task of restructuring the civil service and attempts to redirect national priorities to address the results of apartheid; and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, set up primarily to investigate the wrongs of the past.

In the country’s second democratic election on 2 June 1999 the ANC marginally increased its majority and Thabo Mbeki became President. The New Nationalist Party, previously the official opposition, lost ground and ceded that position to the Democratic Party, which later became the Democratic Alliance.

In 2004 South Africa’s third democtaic election went off peacefully, with Thabo Mbeki and the ANC again returning to power, and the Democratic Alliance retaining its position as official opposition.

Source:Southafrica Info

Justice Kpegah sues government

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wpid-Justice-Francis-Yaonasu-Kpegah-a-retired-Supreme-Court-judge.jpgA Supreme Court Judge, Justice Francis Kpegah has sued the government for alleged breaches of the 1992 Constitution.

He wants the government to appear before the highest court of the land to answer 14 charges on a wide range of issues.

Justice Kpegah wants a declaration by the court that the decision by National Security to ban four former security persons from all military installations was illegal.

In a writ filed at the at the Supreme Court in a rare case, Justice Kpegah also describes the sale of government?s 70 percent shares in Ghana Telecom to Vodafone and the redenomination of the cedi as fraudulent transactions.

The sitting Judge in his statement of claim, said the government?s economic policy based on property owning democracy reflects in the lives of official and cronies of the administration.

Asked what his motives are for filing the writ now by Joy News? Sampson Laadi Ayinene, Justice Kpeha said his reasons were contained in his statement of claim and therefore will not want to state them on radio.

He claimed a plan by the military high command to sell all lands and other assets of the Ghana Armed Forces is an act which contravenes the Constitution and amounts to disbanding the GAF.

He asked where the arms of the GAF will be sent to if the lands are sold to people who want vacant possession of the lands.

He cites the Palava Newspaper as having published a story about the proposed sale of the official residence of the Chief of Defense Staff.

Justice Kpegah is also seeking a declaration that the NPP government has reached its economic wit end and call for national dialogue as to the direction of the country?s economy necessary.

He stressed it was not a mutt point asking our man, Sampson as to whether he was one of the privileged ones and if he was not suffering.

?Is not a mutt point, is a reality on the ground or you are not suffering or you are one of the privileged few.?

The applicant apologized to the NPP Youth Organiser, John Boadu for wrongfully citing him as having donated one billion old cedis to the campaign of Mr. Alan Kyerematen during the flagbearership race of the NPP.

At a point he begged Sampson to end the interview.

A Lecturer at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Mr. Ernest Kofi Abotsi said Justice Kpegah was exercising his fundamental right because under the Constitution every citizen has the right to bring matters to court for the enforcement of the Constitutional provisions.

?The only difficulty, however, is the fact that you cannot easily disentangle the fact of his judgeship, the fact that he is a Supreme Judge from this claim and that creates some difficulties,? he said.

Mr. Abotsi said his presumed neutrality as a Supreme Court Judge vis-?-vis political issues in the makes his case a bit dicey.

?A statement such as a government is at its wit end is heavily political in character, the tone is heavily political, and it creates a problem of perception of partisanship which is problematic I think in the circumstances not to mention the fact that the particular claim seems to truncate other notions of constitutionality as far as the 1992 constitution is concerned.

?The 1992 Constitution creates a clear structure and modalities for the change of government or for the installation of government and the claim made by the applicant is not contemplated by the Constitution.

?The Constitution does not even speak of a coalition government, (it) does not speak of a change of government before the four years no matter how disastrous that government is.

?So in the circumstances of our Constitution, we will have to wait for four years before any government is changed,? he explained.

Source:?Malik Abass Daabu/JFM

NDC 2008 Manifesto For A Better Ghana ? Don?t Mind the Body but Mind the Engine

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The cover pages of the NDC 2008 manifesto are colorful and even attractive. However, beyond those colorful pages are 100 pages of ideas, policy objectives, and agenda that will guide the government should the people of Ghana decide to hire Professor Atta Mills as President in December. It is important to debate and discuss these ideas as part of a campaign to inform the voters as they get ready to exercise their suffrage in less than 2 months. The manifesto is built around 4 themes: (i) Governance; (ii) Economy; (iii) People; and (iv) Infrastructure. In this incipient discussion, I will focus on the Governance leg of the manifesto.

The manifesto defines Governance as ?the exercise of political, economic, and administrative authority in the management of our nation?s affairs.? The party?s primary Governance strategy ?is to mobilize ordinary citizens to claim back their government and implement activities that will enhance the participation and promote the interests of ordinary Ghanaians.? This strategy will be effectuated in seven areas: (1) governance reform; (2) corporate governance; (3) e-governance; (4) law and justice; (5) human safety and security; (6) local government and decentralization; and (7) international relations for development. The discussion below focuses on the first five areas.

Governance Reform

On governance reform, the manifesto lays out the party?s ideas for parliament, corruption, women and governance, media, civil society and the constitution. I, next, summarize my understanding and assessment of those ideas.

PARLIAMENT: The manifesto identifies three issues with parliament: (i) whether the appointment of some ministers from parliament compromise the independence of parliament; (ii) whether parliament is adequately resourced; and (iii) how to enhance parliament?s oversight responsibility. On the first issue, the proposed solution is to ?subject the issue to a critical reflection by major stakeholders ? and use the results of such consultations as the basis of firm proposals to parliament.? On the second issue, the solution is to ?adhere to the constitutional space provided for Parliament to define its financial needs, and for these to be satisfied within the limits of public resources without undue delays and unwarranted cutbacks.? On the third issue, the solution is to ?reinforce this role by empowering the relevant committees and extending this function to cover other senior public officials.?

Anyone with a modest sophistication at evaluating public policy can readily see that these are not ideas at all. It shows unpreparedness and lack of foresight for a political party to offer consultations as its panacea for what it has identified as a threat to the independence of parliament. To say that an NDC government will allow parliament to define its financial needs subject to public resources is to say absolutely nothing. And to say that relevant committees will be empowered to enhance their oversight roles is both too little and too much, which is a kind way of saying it is a meaningless proposal.

Still on parliament, the manifesto proposes three bad ideas and one good idea. First, the party plans to construct and furnish a standard MP?s office in each of the 230 constituencies. Second, each MP will be allowed to hire an administrator, whose salaries and benefits will become a charge on the consolidated fund. Third, the party plans to set up a ?constituency development fund? for each MP. Finally, the party plans to assign a university graduate in liberal arts and humanities to serve as a research assistant for each MP.

It is hard to understand why the NDC sees building a standard MP office in each constituency as a priority. This is especially so when it built standard MP homes in Accra, which they then sold on the cheap to the MPs of the 1st parliament. If MPs need to do work for their constituents, they should arrange with the various districts, churches, schools, etc. to set up meeting places. For the same reason, hiring an administrator to man these MP houses is indicative of a party that still does not understand our budgetary constraints. I have always been against the notion of setting aside funds for MPs, to be used according to their discretion. These funds are better allocated to the district assemblies, who can then set their own priorities. I, however, am supportive of assigning a research assistant to each MP but reject the notion that the assigned servicemen should be in liberal arts or humanities. MPs make decisions on health, roads, budgets, etc and could use help from assistants with expertise in various areas.

CORRUPTION: Corruption, probably the biggest problem in our polity, has the potential to reach epidemic proportions with the discovery and commercial production of oil in the western region. The NDC must therefore be given credit for addressing this issue in its manifesto. Unfortunately its proposals to address the problem lack clarity, thoughtfulness, seriousness, and creativity. At the heart of its anti-corruption effort, is a ?program of encouraging citizens to demand accountability and blowing the whistle on corrupt officials and practices.? Because this is reminiscent of the Citizenship Vetting Committee, it is important that its parameters be clarified. There is also a promise to strengthen CHRAJ and SFO, although no specifics are offered on how the strengthening will be done to arrest corruption. There is also a sentence on asset declaration (the law will be revised to make it functional and effective in ensuring probity and accountability) Sadly, all the proposals focus on detection of corruption, although the best way to address corruption is emplacing preventive controls, such as business performance reviews, segregation of duties, information processing controls, and audits. On balance, it seems the NDC is merely paying lip service to corruption as evidenced by the 4 or so paragraphs devoted to it in a manifesto of over 100 pages.

WOMEN AND GOVERNANCE: According to the manifesto, an NDC government ?shall strengthen the position of women and significantly increase their number in senior governance posts, improve the conditions of poor women and actively promote gender equality and equity.? Of course, this does not say much as it is a generic statement that can be found in the manifesto of just about most modern political parties. The real test is the specific proposals put forward to advance this agenda. Here, we are told that ?the NDC government shall introduce major gender policy and legislative reforms, aiming for a minimum of 40% representation of women at conferences and congresses of the party and in government and public service.? Needless to say, the P/NDC does not have to be in government to assure a 40% representation of women at its conferences and congresses. The proportion of women at their conferences and parliamentary caucus should give the best clue of where it stands on gender issues and whether gender equality will be its priority. The manifesto also talks about intensifying public education against negative socio-cultural practices that discriminate against women. This is welcome and I hope the NDC will speak against the culture that allows men to marry their wives? relatives. MEDIA: During its tenure from 1981 to 1992, the PNDC was openly hostile to the media culminating in the so called culture of silence. This relationship did not change under the NDC even after the advent of the constitution in 1992. The NDC criminalized speech and made prison graduates out of Malik Kwaku Baako, Haruna Atta, Ebenezer Quarcoo, etc. Alas, it often got an assist from the Supreme Court, whose mechanical interpretation of the free speech clause allowed the criminal libel laws to swallow the constitutional guaranteed freedom of speech. Fortunately, one of the first acts of the NPP government was to get rid of the obnoxious criminal libel laws. A potential NDC government?s thinking on the media is therefore important to assessing whether it has made a clear break with the past.

While the manifesto is unclear as to where the NDC stands on criminal libel and the media, there are some danger signals. First, the manifesto indicates that ?the NDC will expect the media to be fair, objective and truthful in a true spirit of partnership with government for promoting national cohesion and sustainable development.? Second, ?the NDC government will maintain a principled relationship with the media, constantly reminding each other that what is right under one government does not suddenly turn wrong when government changes hands.? Third, the ?career progression and development of journalists will engage the serious attention of the NDC government, and a programme of sponsorship of journalists for further training and specialization will be instituted.? These are 3 dangerous ideas that should be of concern to the media and citizenry. The expectation of media fairness suggests that the NDC will monitor the media and will take corrective actions when, in its opinion, the media falls short of expectation. The proposed principled relationship is contrary to the free and independent media contemplated by the constitution. Monitoring the career progression of journalists should clearly not be the role of any government. My interpretation of this tripartite proposal is that the NDC plans to use a ?carrot and stick? approach to muzzle the media. The manifesto states the nature of the carrots (career enhancement from good journalists), the performance benchmark (expectation of fairness, etc) but leaves unspecified the nature of the stick. I am unable to rule out the return of criminal libel under an NDC government.

CIVIL SERVICE: The manifesto devotes 2 paragraphs to the civil service. First, an NDC government will ensure a civil service leadership ?characterized by competence and provide a remuneration structure that will make civil servants more effective and efficient.? Second, the NDC government will locate the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC) in the office of the President to be chaired by the President. The first policy is half-baked because of the absence of specifics. To be taken seriously, a manifesto should be more than platitudes. The second policy is bad and suggests some confusion as to the role of the NDPC. Under the constitution, the NDPC shall advise the President on development planning policy and strategy (article 87(1)) and shall be

responsible to the President (article 85(3)). Further, the NDPC shall consist of a chairman who shall be appointed by the President in consultation with the council of state (article 85(2)). In light of these constitutional provisions, it is clear that the plan to locate it to the office of the President does not mean much and the plan to have the President chair the commission is in clear contravention of article 85(2).

CIVIL SOCIETY: The manifesto identifies civil society as a critical part of the governance process. However, the only plan for civil society is to ?provide the necessary support and environment in which civil society organizations will flourish.? This, again, is both too little and too much. It fails to shed any meaningful light on the party?s plans for civil society.

CONSTITUTION: Although this is advertised as part of the governance reform agenda, there is no specific plan or even statement about it. Corporate Governance Corporate governance refers to the set of processes, customs, policies, laws and institutions that define the way a corporation is directed, administered or controlled. Forensic audit of 11 state owned enterprises for the period that the NDC was in office revealed that questionable corporate governance practices had led to losses of over ?1.3 Trillion (old cedis). This was in addition to mysterious diversification practices (e.g., CARIDEM), unilateral guarantee of loans (e.g., Quality Grain and Valley Farms), and lack of accountability (e.g., delayed audit reports and inaction by the public accounts committee). In light of this history, the NDC?s plans on corporate governance assume additional importance.

Alas, the manifesto does not shed light on the party plans to avoid the recurrence of the problems that existed during its tenure. With respect to private sector corporate governance, the manifesto states ?the NDC government will engage the private sector and regulatory agencies to ensure that good corporate governance standards and guidelines are set.? This, of course, is no plan at all. With respect to the public sector, ?companies will be restructured with emphasis on responsibility, accountability, and performance. The composition of Board of Directors will emphasize quality, competence and professionalism, and they shall operate within the overall policy framework set by the government.? Again, these are worthwhile goals that do not invite debate and are shared by all parties. What is lacking and troubling is the absence of specific plans, actions, or tactics. The only specific idea that I found was a statement that ?as far as practicable, ministers and MPs shall not be appointed to positions of chairman and members of Board of Directors of public sector companies in order to avoid conflict of interest situations.? This is a positive idea, except that the ?as far as practicable? caveat should give the voter cause for concern.

Nkrumah?s Eternal Endowment on Governance

An NDC government plans to declare Dr. Nkrumah?s birthday a national holiday with effect from his 100th birthday annivessary. Expectedly, the manifesto does not provide any cost/benefit analysis. Nor do I have any reason to believe that the party has given any serious thought on the cost to the economy of the over 14 public holidays that we currently have on the books. When it comes to holidays, we need less not more.

E-Governance

E-Governance refers to the use of information communication technology as a platform for exchanging information, providing services and transacting with citizens, businesses, and other arms of government. If implemented properly, it can empower citizens and enhance government and business productivity. The manifesto states ?a network design for the whole country will start in earnest. This design will take into account the existing infrastructure, the expected expansion and the expected traffic.? This is a good focus but falls far short of what is needed to be taken seriously. For instance, how much does an NDC government plan to spend? What will be given up in order to fund this project? How much will be spent on training staff to bring them up to speed? Without these specifics, budgets, and milestones, the manifesto is reduced to statements of agreed-upon aspirations. Moreover, without these specifics, the Office of Evaluation and Oversight, a proposed new office to monitor the fulfillment of promises made in the manifesto, will have an impossible task and end up as a deadweight, job-for-the boys agency, whose costs are absorbed by the ever shrinking and over-stretched consolidated funds.

Law and Justice

According to the manifesto, the NDC aims to ?restore confidence in and respect for the judiciary, make it truly independent and close any loopholes that tend to tempt and encourage executive manipulation of the judiciary.? Further, ?justice will be made available to all, especially the poor, and court procedures will be reviewed to expedite court processes. Measures to improve the human resource base of the judiciary as well as the quality of judgments will be pursued.? The party also set some benchmarks, which include placing a ceiling on the number of Supreme Court Justices, empanelling all Supreme Court Justices, separating the Attorney General?s department from the ministry of justice, sponsoring sitting judges for further studies, reviewing the legal aid act, etc.

Again, because no budgetary information and milestones are provided, it is hard to take these proposals seriously. But there are some ideas that should concern all Ghanaians who care about the independence of the judiciary. For instance, it is very disturbing that the NDC plans to take measures to ?improve the quality of judgments? and ?make the judiciary truly independent.? The manifesto does not detail the measures that the party will take to do these things but it seems clear that the NDC does not understand the judiciary is a co-equal branch of government and must at all times be free from executive interference, intimidation, and invectives. It is probably worth reminding the NDC that in spite of its perspectives or predispositions, the administration of justice is within the sole purview of the judiciary.

Article 127 (1) is very clear that ?In the exercise of the judicial power of Ghana, the Judiciary, in both its judicial and administrative functions, including financial administration, is subject only to this Constitution and shall not be subject to the control or direction of any person or authority.? Thus, many of the measures outlined in the manifesto, which appear to interfere with the exercise of the judicial function, are worrisome indeed.

Human Safety and Security

The manifesto breaks this into two parts: (1) fighting narcotic trafficking and (2) protecting the people.

On fighting narcotic trafficking, the manifesto is long on accusing the NPP government of not doing much but short on what an NDC government will do. First, an NDC government ?will not allow this country to be turned into a subsidiary of drug cartels.? Second, an government ?will faithfully and diligently discharge our international obligations especially relating to the seizure and forfeiture of the assets of convicted drug traffickers.? Finally, the NDC government ?will send a clear signal to all drug dealers and drug traffickers that it is no hurry to transfer to Ghana persons convicted of narcotic trafficking serving sentences in foreign prisons.?

That is it! No plans on reforming NACOB, customs, police, or other law enforcement. There is nothing on surveillance, education, and treatment. There are no planned budgetary allocations, nothing at all to show that this is a problem that has been seriously considered.

On protecting the people, the manifesto does marginally better by specifying some broad policy objectives. These include improving the capacity of the internal security agencies, reviving the neighborhood watch committees, strengthening the intelligence committees, providing the equipment and other logistics for an efficient police service, etc. Of course, this is another catalogue of wishes that most serious ?O? level students can regurgitate on an exam on Government. Specifics are needed on funding, personnel, milestones, etc. for a manifesto to be considered a serious document.

Conclusion

As we get ready to vote in December 2008, it is important for voters to be fully informed about the plans of the major political parties. The political parties have provided manifestoes to facilitate this process. However, these manifestoes tend to be lengthy and inaccessible to most voters. This creates a demand for summaries of these manifestoes. It is in this spirit that I offer this initial evaluation of part of the NDC manifesto. Based on my review, I find that the colorful pages of the manifesto mask some very half-baked, bad and even dangerous ideas, which reminds me of the inscription on the tro-tro that I used to ride from my Adabraka abode to the then Makola No. 1 ? don?t mind the body, mind the engine!

Source:?Asare, S. Kwaku

The Monte Carlo’s Success Story

Daily Guide Africa
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The Monte Carlo’s Success Story
Monte Carlo
Monte Carlo

The chief executive of Monte Carlo Grand Caf?, Mrs. Sally Kanbonaba Kleyn, has declared her intention to use her outfit to promote Ghana’s tourism industry.

She told Beatwaves that despite her huge investment in the entertainment industry she believed there was a lot to be done if stakeholders want to maintain the standard in the industry.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with Beatwaves at her office, Sally disclosed that she started from a humble beginning and with determination she had reached this far.

According to her, in 2004 she established Monte Carlo Forever Fashion off the Osu Oxford Street in Accra on her return from Europe.

Two years later she established a bar and restaurant as well as a night club, since to her, the tourism industry in Ghana was booming.

Two weeks ago she relocated her Forever Fashion House from the Osu Oxford Street to the premises of the bar and restaurant under the theme; ?Monte Carlo Under One Roof.?

In addition she opened a VIP private clubbing section within her club. This decision was to satisfy the growing demand of clientele who always visit plush joints, she said.

When asked how she came by the name Monte Carlo, she said, ?I adopted the name Monte Carlo for my bar and restaurant from Monte Carlo, a suburb of Monaco.

There is so much class attached to the name itself which made me want to bring it to Ghana.

So I named my restaurant Monte Carlo.?

Sally who is affectionately called Mama Luu (a Dutch word meaning Auntie), disclosed that she is used to living an expensive lifestyle.

?I unfortunately or fortunately developed very expensive taste for fashion. Everything to do with things around me, from furniture to clothes is authentic and expensive,? she declared.

The sight of her plush Monte Carlo Grande Caf? no doubt suggests so.

According to Sally, her taste for such posh lifestyle was an influence from a city called Monaco where she resided with her Dutch husband, Mr. Hank Kleyn and her five-year-old daughter.

Everybody in Monaco, she revealed, lives an affluent lifestyle.

Sally, who owns a Hummer H2 model, Range Rover sports 2007 model, Mercedes X-Class 500 and an Escalate, as well wears classy international designer clothes from lines as Christian Dior, Gucci, Roberto Carville and Lorenzo among others. Locally, she patronises high quality Kente and African designs from Woodin.

Sally who said she is hundred percent Ghanaian hails from Bawku in the Upper East Region.

She completed her General Certificate Examination (GCE O’Level) at the Sekondi College in 1994. She later came into contact with a man from Switzerland who traveled with her to that country.

The Monte Carlo CEO told Beatwaves that after shuttling between Ghana and Europe she decided to stay at home and find a permanent job for herself, but somewhere along the line she met her husband and they moved to Monaco, one of richest cities in the world.

Personally Sally says she thinks she is a successful business woman in

the area of show businesses. ?I have everything I want to achieve.

There is nothing I really wanted that I have not been able to get, but with business I think I am not all that successful,? she stated. She indicated that she does not enjoy her affluence alone as she also helps society.

She hinted that besides providing jobs for the unemployed in society, she gives to institutions that need support from business men and women.

?I have adopted a maternity ward at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital where I have relieved some of the mothers who were not able to pay their medical bills.

I also provide the ward with things that the babies need. I am not saying this because I want recognition, but to prove to you that I also support society.?

Sally’s greatest dislike in life is people who don’t respect others. ?I don’t like such people since I myself respect people. I am humble.

I grew up with my sister and father. I was only fortunate to marry an European. So I won’t do anything to disrespect others because I am successful in life.?

She as well told Beatwaves that beautifying was her utmost hobby.

?My hobby! My major interest is spending time at home beautifying myself.

I have to be honest with you; I like taking care of myself by making sure that every detail or every part of my body is done. I like to do my hair, my nails.

I also like speaking to my family. I don’t have any special hobbies. I will probably say my business is a hobby at the same time because I do enjoy it when I’m working,? said the 32-year-old woman.

By Francis Addo & Gorge Clifford Owusu

KOO NIMO: THE LIVING LEGEND

News Ghana
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Source: nigeriafilms – NigeriaFilms.com

Koo Nimo is a living legend from Ghana, playing multiple forms of traditional musics as well as new music, informed by western influences.

Koo (also known as Daniel Amponsah, from his days in London) grew up as part of the royal family of Ghana, where he learned to play the traditional red and black kete drums of the royal ensembles. By the time he was nineteen, he was teaching drumming, guitar, and brass band music in his native village of Foase.

While in London thereafter on a chemistry scholarship, he took formal instruction in guitar. After returning to Ghana, he took a position as chief laboratory technician in the Chemistry Department of the University of Science and Technology in Kumasi He remained an active musician during this time, and the head of the Musicians Union.

In 1957 he formed the Ghanaian roots ensemble Adadam Agofomma, which received considerable acclaim. Along with the kete drumming he learned in his youth, he became a virtuoso in the palmwine guitar style, a complicated pattern of two-finger picking. It is this palmwine style that he is most famous for.

His playing is influenced heavily by brass band highlife (American giants such as Charlie Christian, as well as Spanish guitar styles.

He is one of the most respected artists in current African music, though he ignores the afrobeat style.

OSIBISA: FULL ILLUSTRATED BIOGRAPHY

News Ghana
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Source: nigeriafilms – NigeriaFilms.com

Formed in London in 1969 by three Ghanaian and three Caribbean musicians, Osibisa played a central role in developing an awareness of African music among European and North American audiences in the 70s.

The Ghanaian founder members of Osibisa – Teddy Osei (saxophone), Sol Amarfio (drums) and Mac Tontoh, Teddy’s brother (trumpet) – were seasoned members of the Accra highlife scene before they moved to London to launch their attack on the world stage.

Osei and Amaflio had played in the Star Gazers, a top Ghanaian highlife band, before setting up the Comets, who scored a large West African hit with their 1958 single ‘Pete Pete’. Tontoh was also a member of the Comets, before joining the Uhuru Dance Band, one of the first outfits to bring elements of jazz into Ghanaian highlife. The other founder-members of Osibisa were Spartacus R, a Grenadian bass player, Robert Bailey (b. Trinidad; keyboards) and Wendel Richardson (b. Antigua; lead guitar), & Lasisi Amao (b. Nigeria; percussionist & tenor sax).
Teddy Osei

Teddy Osei moved to London in 1962 where he was eventually given a scholarship by the Ghanaian government to study music. In 1964, he formed Cat’s Paw, an early blueprint for Osibisa that blended highlife, rock and soul. In 1969, feeling the need for more accomplished African musicians within the line-up, he persuaded Tontoh and Amarfio to join him in London and Osibisa was born.

Osbisa in the 90’sThe venture proved to be an immediate success, with the single ‘Music for Gong Gong’ a substantial hit in 1970 (three other singles later made the British Top 10: ‘Sunshine Day’, ‘Dance the Body Music’ and ‘Coffee Song’). Osibisa’s debut album displayed music whose rock references, especially in the guitar solos, combined with vibrant African cross rhythms. The band’s true power only fully came across on stage, when African village scenarios and a mastery of rhythm and melody summoned up energy and spirit. Woyaya reached number 11 in the UK and Art Garfunkel later covered its title track.

During the late 70s they spent much of their time on world tours, playing to particularly large audiences in Japan, India, Australia and Africa. They were joined at this time, by the Ghanaian percussionist Darko Adams ‘Potato’ (b. 1932, d. 1 January 1995, Accra, Ghana).

In 1980 Osibisa performed a special concert at the Zimbabwean independence celebrations. By this time, however, Osibisa’s star was in decline, in commercial terms, in Europe and America. The band continued touring and releasing records, but to steadily diminishing audiences. Business problems followed. After initially signing to MCA Records, Osibisa had changed labels several times, ending with Bronze Records. The moves reflected their growing frustration with British business, as each label in turn tried to persuade them to adapt their music to the disco style. Osibisa were prepared to make some concessions but only up to a point.

Teddy Osei: Still blowin’, still delivering the goods!In the mid-80s, the group directed their attention to the state of the music business in Ghana, planning a studio and theatre complex, and to helping in the promotion of younger highlife artists. In 1984, Tontoh formed a London band to back three visiting Ghanaian musicians – A.B. Crentsil, Eric Agyeman and Thomas Frempong. An album, Highlife Stars, followed on Osibisa’s own Flying Elephant label.

Osibisa occasionally staged reunion concerts before Teddy Osei put together a new line-up for 1996’s’ Monsore’. Sequel Records reissued much of their past catalogue in 1999, proving how good the band were and how amazingly fresh their music still sounds today.
Contrary to popular belief, this legendary band are still in existence, still touring and still recording. Their latest release AKA KAKRA is an absolute triumph mixing their familiar rock tinged cross-rhythms with some great improvised jazz leanings.

THE HIGHLIFE ALLSTARS

News Ghana
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Source: nigeriafilms – NigeriaFilms.com

Some of the greatest of all Highlife artists recalling the golden era of Ghana””s Guitar Highlife and Palmwine music. Features singers Alex Konadu and Prince Osei Kofi, the Palmwine sounds of Kwadwo Tawia and brassband highlife by Kwaku Abeka

The National Liberation Council And The Busia Years, 1966-71

News Ghana
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Source: allghanadata

The leaders of the coup that overthrew Nkrumah immediately opened the country’s borders and its prison gates to allow the return from exile or release from preventive detention of all opponents of Nkrumah. The National Liberation Council (NLC), composed of four army officers and four police officers, assumed executive power. It appointed a cabinet of civil servants and promised to restore democratic government as quickly as possible. The ban on the formation of political parties remained in force until late 1968, but activity by individual figures began much earlier with the appointment of a succession of committees composed of civil servants and politicians as the first step in the return to civilian and representative rule.

These moves culminated in the appointment of a representative assembly to draft a constitution for the Second Republic of Ghana. Political party activity was allowed to commence with the opening of the assembly. By election time in August 1969, the first competitive nationwide political contest since 1956, five parties had been organized.

The major contenders were the Progress Party (PP), headed by Kofi A. Busia, and the National Alliance of Liberals (NAL), led by Komla A. Gbedemah. Critics associated these two leading parties with the political divisions of the early Nkrumah years. The PP found much of its support among the old opponents of Nkrumah’s CPP- -the educated middle class and traditionalists of Ashanti Region and the North. This link was strengthened by the fact that Busia had headed the NLM and its successor, the UP, before fleeing the country to oppose Nkrumah from exile. Similarly, the NAL was seen as the successor of the CPP’s right wing, which Gbedemah had headed until he was ousted by Nkrumah in 1961.

The elections demonstrated an interesting voting pattern. For example, the PP carried all the seats among the Asante and the Brong. All seats in the northern regions of the country were closely contested. In the Volta Region, the PP won some Ewe seats, while the NAL won all seats in the non-Ewe northern section. Overall, the PP gained 59 percent of the popular vote and 74 percent of the seats in the National Assembly. The PP’s victories demonstrated some support among nearly all the ethnic groups. An estimated 60 percent of the electorate voted.

Immediately after the elections, Gbedemah was barred from taking his seat in the National Assembly by a Supreme Court decision involving those CPP members who had been accused of financial crimes. Gbedemah retired permanently from active participation in politics. The NAL, left without a strong leader, controlled thirty seats; in October 1970, it absorbed the members of three other minor parties in the assembly to form the Justice Party (JP) under the leadership of Joseph Appiah. Their combined strength constituted what amounted to a southern bloc with a solid constituency among most of the Ewe and the peoples of the coastal cities.

Busia, the PP leader in both parliament and the nation, became prime minister when the National Assembly met in September. An interim three-member presidential commission, composed of Major Afrifa, Police Inspector General Harlley of the NLC, and the chief of the defense staff, Major General A.K. Ocran, served in place of an elected president for the first year and a half of civilian rule. The commission dissolved itself in August 1970. Before stepping down, Afrifa criticized the constitution, particularly provisions that served more as a bar to the rise of a dictator than as a blueprint for an effective, decisive government. The electoral college chose as president Chief Justice Edward Akufo Addo, one of the leading nationalist politicians of the UGCC era and one of the judges dismissed by Nkrumah in 1964.

All attention, however, remained focused on Prime Minister Busia and his government. Much was expected of the Busia administration, because its parliamentarians were considered intellectuals and, therefore, more perceptive in their evaluations of what needed to be done. Many Ghanaians hoped that their decisions would be in the general interest of the nation, as compared with those made by the Nkrumah administration, which were judged to satisfy narrow party interests and, more important, Nkrumah’s personal agenda. The NLC had given assurances that there would be more democracy, more political maturity, and more freedom in Ghana, because the politicians allowed to run for the 1969 elections were proponents of Western democracy. In fact, these were the same individuals who had suffered under the old regime and were, therefore, thought to understand the benefits of democracy.

Two early measures initiated by the Busia government were the expulsion of large numbers of noncitizens from the country and a companion measure to limit foreign involvement in small businesses. The moves were aimed at relieving the unemployment created by the country’s precarious economic situation. The policies were popular because they forced out of the retail sector of the economy those foreigners, especially Lebanese, Asians, and Nigerians, who were perceived as unfairly monopolizing trade to the disadvantage of Ghanaians. Many other Busia moves, however, were not popular. Busia’s decision to introduce a loan program for university students, who had hitherto received free education, was challenged because it was interpreted as introducing a class system into the country’s highest institutions of learning. Some observers even saw Busia’s devaluation of the national currency and his encouragement of foreign investment in the industrial sector of the economy as conservative ideas that could undermine Ghana’s sovereignty.

The opposition Justice Party’s basic policies did not differ significantly from those of the Busia administration. Still, the party attempted to stress the importance of the central government rather than that of limited private enterprise in economic development, and it continued to emphasize programs of primary interest to the urban work force. The ruling PP emphasized the need for development in rural areas, both to slow the movement of population to the cities and to redress regional imbalance in levels of development. The JP and a growing number of PP members favored suspension of payment on some foreign debts of the Nkrumah era. This attitude grew more popular as debt payments became more difficult to meet. Both parties favored creation of a West African economic community or an economic union with the neighboring West African states.

Despite broad popular support garnered at its inception and strong foreign connections, the Busia government fell victim to an army coup within twenty-seven months. Neither ethnic nor class differences played a role in the overthrow of the PP government. The crucial causes were the country’s continuing economic difficulties, both those stemming from the high foreign debts incurred by Nkrumah and those resulting from internal problems. The PP government had inherited US$580 million in medium- and long-term debts, an amount equal to 25 percent of the gross domestic product ( GDP) of 1969. By 1971 the US$580 million had been further inflated by US$72 million in accrued interest payments and US$296 million in short-term commercial credits. Within the country, an even larger internal debt fueled inflation.

Ghana’s economy remained largely dependent upon the often difficult cultivation of and market for cocoa. Cocoa prices had always been volatile, but exports of this tropical crop normally provided about half of the country’s foreign currency earnings. Beginning in the 1960s, however, a number of factors combined to limit severely this vital source of national income. These factors included foreign competition (particularly from neighboring Côte d’Ivoire), a lack of understanding of free-market forces (by the government in setting prices paid to farmers), accusations of bureaucratic incompetence in the Cocoa Marketing Board, and the smuggling of crops into Côte d’Ivoire. As a result, Ghana’s income from cocoa exports continued to fall dramatically.

Austerity measures imposed by the Busia administration, although wise in the long run, alienated influential farmers, who until then had been PP supporters. These measures were part of Busia’s economic structural adjustment efforts to put the country on a sounder financial base. The austerity programs had been recommended by the International Monetary Fund ( IMF). The recovery measures also severely affected the middle class and the salaried work force, both of which faced wage freezes, tax increases, currency devaluations, and rising import prices. These measures precipitated protests from the Trade Union Congress. In response, the government sent the army to occupy the trade union headquarters and to block strike actions–a situation that some perceived as negating the government’s claim to be operating democratically.

The army troops and officers upon whom Busia relied for support were themselves affected, both in their personal lives and in the tightening of the defense budget, by these same austerity measures. As the leader of the anti-Busia coup declared on January 13, 1972, even those amenities enjoyed by the army during the Nkrumah regime were no longer available. Knowing that austerity had alienated the officers, the Busia government began to change the leadership of the army’s combat elements. This, however, was the last straw. Lieutenant Colonel Ignatius Kutu Acheampong, temporarily commanding the First Brigade around Accra, led a bloodless coup that ended the Second Republic.

The National Redemption Council Years, 1972-79

News Ghana
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Source: allghanadata

Despite its short existence, the Second Republic was significant in that the development problems the nation faced came clearly into focus. These included uneven distribution of investment funds and favoritism toward certain groups and regions. Furthermore, important questions about developmental priorities emerged. For example, was rural development more important than the needs of the urban population? Or, to what extent was the government to incur the cost of university education? And more important, was the public to be drawn into the debate about the nation’s future? The impact of the fall of Ghana’s Second Republic cast a shadow across the nation’s political future because no clear answers to these problems emerged.

According to one writer, the overthrow of the PP government revealed that Ghana was no longer the pace-setter in Africa’s search for workable political institutions. Both the radical left and the conservative right had failed. In opposing Nkrumah’s one- party state, Busia allegedly argued that socialist rule in Ghana had led to unemployment and poverty for many while party officials grew richer at the expense of the masses. But in justifying the one-party state, Nkrumah pointed to the weaknesses of multiparty parliamentary democracy, a system that delayed decision-making processes and, therefore, the ability to take action to foster development. The fall of both the Nkrumah and the Busia regimes seemed to have confused many with regard to the political direction the nation needed to take. In other words, in the first few years after the Nkrumah administration, Ghanaians were unable to arrive at a consensus on the type of government suited to address their national problems.

It was this situation–the inability of the PP government to satisfy diverse interest groups–that ostensibly gave Acheampong an excuse for the January 13 takeover. Acheampong’s National Redemption Council (NRC) claimed that it had to act to remove the ill effects of the currency devaluation of the previous government and thereby, at least in the short run, to improve living conditions for individual Ghanaians. Under the circumstances, the NRC was compelled to take immediate measures. Although committed to the reversal of the fiscal policies of the PP government, the NRC, by comparison, adopted policies that appeared painless and, therefore, popular. But unlike the coup leaders of the NLC, members of the NRC did not outline any plan for the return of the nation to democratic rule. Some observers accused the NRC of acting simply to rectify their own grievances. To justify their takeover, coup leaders leveled charges of corruption against Busia and his ministers. In its first years, the NRC drew support from a public pleased by the reversal of Busia’s austerity measures. The Ghanaian currency was revalued upward, and two moves were announced to lessen the burden of existing foreign debts: the repudiation of US$90 million of Nkrumah’s debts to British companies, and the unilateral rescheduling of the rest of the country’s debts for payment over fifty years. Later, the NRC nationalized all large foreign-owned companies. But these measures, while instantly popular in the streets, did nothing to solve the country’s real problems. If anything, they aggravated the problem of capital flow.

Unlike the NLC of 1966, the NRC sought to create a truly military government; hence, in October 1975, the ruling council was reorganized into the Supreme Military Council (SMC), and its membership was restricted to a few senior military officers. The intent was to consolidate the military’s hold over government administration and to address occasional disagreements, conflicts, and suspicions within the armed forces, which by now had emerged as the constituency of the military government. Little input from the civilian sector was allowed, and no offers were made to return any part of the government to civilian control during the SMC’s first five years in power. SMC members believed that the country’s problems were caused by a lack of organization, which could be remedied by applying military organization and thinking. This was the extent of the SMC philosophy. Officers were put in charge of all ministries and state enterprises; junior officers and sergeants were assigned leadership roles down to the local level in every government department and parastatal organization.

During the NRC’s early years, these administrative changes led many Ghanaians to hope that the soldiers in command would improve the efficiency of the country’s bloated bureaucracies. Acheampong’s popularity continued into 1974 as the government successfully negotiated international loan agreements and rescheduled Ghana’s debts. The government also provided price supports for basic food imports, while seeking to encourage Ghanaians to become self- reliant in agriculture and the production of raw materials. In the Operation Feed Yourself program, all Ghanians were encouraged to undertake some form of food production, with the goal of eventual food self-sufficiency for the country. The program enjoyed some initial success, but support for it gradually waned.

Whatever limited success the NRC had in these efforts, however, was overridden by other basic economic factors. Industry and transportation suffered greatly as world oil prices rose during and after 1974, and the lack of foreign exchange and credit left the country without fuel. Basic food production continued to decline even as the population grew, largely because of poor price management and urbanization. When world cocoa prices rose again in the late 1970s, Ghana was unable to take advantage of the price rise because of the low productivity of its old orchards. Moreover, because of the low prices paid to cocoa farmers, some growers along the nation’s borders smuggled their produce to Togo or Côte d’Ivoire. Disillusionment with the government grew, particularly among the educated. Accusations of personal corruption among the rulers also began to surface.

The reorganization of the NRC into the SMC in 1975 may have been part of a face-saving attempt. Shortly after that time, the government sought to stifle opposition by issuing a decree forbidding the propagation of rumors and by banning a number of independent newspapers and detaining their journalists. Also, armed soldiers broke up student demonstrations, and the government repeatedly closed the universities, which had become important centers of opposition to NRC policies.

Despite these efforts, the SMC by 1977 found itself constrained by mounting nonviolent opposition. To be sure, discussions about the nation’s political future and its relationship to the SMC had begun in earnest. Although the various opposition groups (university students, lawyers, and other organized civilian groups) called for a return to civilian constitutional rule, Acheampong and the SMC favored a union government–a mixture of elected civilian and appointed military leaders–but one in which party politics would be abolished. University students and many intellectuals criticized the union government idea, but others, such as Justice Gustav Koranteng-Addow, who chaired the seventeen-member ad hoc committee appointed by the government to work out details of the plan, defended it as the solution to the nation’s political problems. Supporters of the union government idea viewed multiparty political contests as the perpetrators of social tension and community conflict among classes, regions, and ethnic groups. Unionists argued that their plan had the potential to depoliticize public life and to allow the nation to concentrate its energies on economic problems.

A national referendum was held in March 1978 to allow the people to accept or reject the union government concept. A rejection of the union government meant a continuation of military rule. Given this choice, it was surprising that so narrow a margin voted in favor of union government. Opponents of the idea organized demonstrations against the government, arguing that the referendum vote had not been free or fair. The Acheampong government reacted by banning several organizations and by jailing as many as 300 of its opponents.

The agenda for change in the union government referendum called for the drafting of a new constitution by an SMC-appointed commission, the selection of a constituent assembly by November 1978, and general elections in June 1979. The ad hoc committee had recommended a nonparty election, an elected executive president, and a cabinet whose members would be drawn from outside a single- house National Assembly. The military council would then step down, although its members could run for office as individuals.

In July 1978, in a sudden move, the other SMC officers forced Acheampong to resign, replacing him with Lieutenant General Frederick W.K. Akuffo. The SMC apparently acted in response to continuing pressure to find a solution to the country’s economic dilemma. Inflation was estimated to be as high as 300 percent that year. There were shortages of basic commodities, and cocoa production fell to half its 1964 peak. The council was also motivated by Acheampong’s failure to dampen rising political pressure for changes. Akuffo, the new SMC chairman, promised publicly to hand over political power to a new government to be elected by July 1, 1979.

Despite Akuffo’s assurances, opposition to the SMC persisted. The call for the formation of political parties intensified. In an effort to gain support in the face of continuing strikes over economic and political issues, the Akuffo government at length announced that the formation of political parties would be allowed after January 1979. Akuffo also granted amnesty to former members of both Nkrumah’s CPP and Busia’s PP, as well as to all those convicted of subversion under Acheampong. The decree lifting the ban on party politics went into effect on January 1, 1979, as planned. The constitutional assembly that had been working on a new constitution presented an approved draft and adjourned in May. All appeared set for a new attempt at constitutional government in July, when a group of young army officers overthrew the SMC government in June 1979.

Hotels in Ghana

News Ghana
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1

Source: ghanaexpeditions

Name: Treasure Land Hotel
Location: Ayigya Kumasi
Address: Located at the serene neighborhood of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (K.N.U.S.T)
Telephone: 233-51-61012, +233-51-61011
Fax: 233-20-8111977, +233-24-4461675
Email: [email protected]
Rating: 3-Star
Room Types: No information found
Facilities: Conference Rooms, Internet Service, Restaurant, Room Service, Swimming Pool, Television

Name: Sampson’s Guest House Ltd.
Location: Two Streets before Kwashieman ‘A-Lang’Taxi Station
Address: House No. 121 , 3 rd Lake Pool Street
Accra
Telephone: +00 44 2 8451 3356, Mobile: +00 44 7944 543 082
Fax: 0289 101 152 Mobile: 0275 339 910
Email: [email protected]
Rating: 4-Star
Room Types: No information found
Facilities: Television

Name: Novotel Accra map available
Location: Accra Central
Address: Accra City Centre – Barnes Road
Box 12720, Accra-North
Telephone: 233 21 667546
Fax: Fax: 233 21 667533
Email: [email protected]
Rating: 4-Star
Room Types: Single, Double, Twin, Suite
Facilities: Conference Rooms, Internet Service, Restaurant, Room Service, Swimming Pool, Television

Name: Beyin Beach Resort
Location: next to the Ghana Wildlife Centre for Nzuelzo (the stilt village) 90 km West of Takoradi
Address: P.O Box 145,
Aiyinasi,
Western Region,
Ghana
Telephone: +233 275 139186,+233 242 188240
Fax: No information found
Email: [email protected]
Rating: 3-Star
Room Types: No information found
Facilities: No information found

Name: Korkpalm Hotel
Location: Asylum Down
Address: Second Crescent,
beside Burkina Faso Embassy,
Asylum Down
Telephone: +233-(0) 21-226797,+233-(0)208-022599,+233-(0)243-045341
Fax: No information found
Email: [email protected]
Rating: 1-Star
Room Types: No information found
Facilities: No information found

Name: Biriwa Beach Hotel map available
Location: Biriwa
Address: Box 479, Cape Coast
Telephone: 042-33333/33666 / +233 (0)244 446277
Fax: Fax: +233 (0)42 33124
Email: [email protected]
Rating: 2-Star
Room Types: Double
Facilities: Internet Service, Restaurant, Room Service, Television

Name: JeSuis Afrique
Location: Kokrobite
Address: (click here for map)
Telephone: 233 (0)24 738 937
Fax: No information found
Email: [email protected]
Rating: 3-Star
Room Types: No information found
Facilities: No information found

Name: Hotel De Hilda
Location: Tamso Tarkwa
Address: Box 347, Tarkwa
Telephone: 0362-20325
Fax: 0362-20992/3
Email: [email protected]
Rating: 3-Star
Room Types: Double
Facilities: Air Conditioning, Conference Rooms, Fitness Center, Internet Service, Restaurant, Room Service, Safe for Valuables, Swimming Pool, Television

Name: Eusbett Hotel
Location: Sunyani
Address: Box 1167, Sunyani
Telephone: +233 (0) 61 27116, 24393-4
Fax: +233 (0) 6124391-2
Email: [email protected]
Rating: 3-Star
Room Types: Single, Double
Facilities: Air Conditioning, Conference Rooms, Fitness Center, Restaurant, Room Service, Safe for Valuables, Swimming Pool, Television

Name: Abuesi Beach Resort map available
Location: Abuesi near Sekondi
Address: Abuesi
Telephone: No information found
Fax: No information found
Email: [email protected]
Rating: 3-Star
Room Types: No information found
Facilities: No information found

Name: Esther’s Hotel
Location: Airport Residential Area
Address: 4 Volta Street
Box 4431
Airport Residential, Accra
Telephone: 772368/
Fax: Fax: 765750
Email: [email protected]
Rating: Guest
Room Types: Single
Facilities: Internet Service, Television

Name: Erata Hotel map available
Location: East Legon
Address: Ougadougou Avenue, Okponglo
East Legon
P.O. Box GP 8949
Accra Ghana
Telephone: 233 21 506343/515192/515/193
Fax: Fax: 233 21 505119
Email: [email protected]
Rating: 3-Star
Room Types: Single, Double, Twin, Suite, Chalet
Facilities: No information found

Name: Green Turtle Lodge map available
Location: Takoradi
Address: Green Turtle Lodge
P.O. Box MC1258
Takoradi
Western Region
Ghana
Telephone: 233 (0)31-26282
Fax: 233 (0) 244 893 566
Email: [email protected]
Rating: 3-Star
Room Types: No information found
Facilities: Restaurant, Safe for Valuables

Name: Coconut Grove Regency – Accra map available
Location: Ridge behind the Ghana Immigration Service Headquarters
Address: Box CT 3998,Cantonments
Accra
Telephone: 226310/225155
Fax: Fax: 230145
Email: [email protected]
Rating: 3-Star
Room Types: Single, Single, Double, Double
Facilities: Conference Rooms, Fitness Center, Internet Service, Restaurant, Room Service, Swimming Pool, Television

Name: Coconut Grove Hotel – Obuasi
Location: Obuasi Ashanti
Address: Box OB. 933, Obuasi
Telephone: No information found
Fax: No information found
Email: [email protected]
Rating: 2-Star
Room Types: Single, Double
Facilities: Conference Rooms, Internet Service, Restaurant, Room Service, Television

Name: Coconut Grove (Bridge House)
Location: Elmina
Address: Box 175, Elmina
Telephone: 042-34557
Fax: 042-33632
Email: [email protected]
Rating: Unclassified
Room Types: Single, Double
Facilities: Restaurant, Room Service, Television

Name: Coconut Grove Beach Resort
Location: Elmina
Address: Box 168, Elmina
Telephone: 33637/33650
Fax: 33646
Email: [email protected]
Rating: 3-Star
Room Types: Single, Double, Twin, Suite, Chalet
Facilities: Conference Rooms, Fitness Center, Internet Service, Restaurant, Room Service, Swimming Pool, Television, Tennis Courts

Name: Aylos Bay Hotel and Garden Restaurant map available
Location: Akosombo
Address: P.O. Box AB37, Akosombo,
ER, Ghana
Telephone: 233 (0) 251 20093
Fax: 233 (0) 244 756088
Email: [email protected]
Rating: Guest
Room Types: Single, Double
Facilities: Restaurant, Room Service

Name: Silicon Golf Park Apartment Hotel
Location: West Legon
Address: 8 Silicon Avenue
West Legon, Greenhil
P.O. Box AN11489, Accra
Telephone: 233 21 400000/235306/220435
Fax: Fax: 233 21 228520
Email: [email protected]
Rating: 3-Star
Room Types: No information found
Facilities: No information found

Name: White Sands Beach Club
Location: Gomoa Fetteh
Address: Box C 575, Cant.Accra
Telephone: 0244-311888/021-773070/60
Fax: Fax: 021-774064
Email: [email protected]
Rating: Unclassified
Room Types: Single, Double
Facilities: Air Conditioning, Internet Service, Restaurant, Room Service, Television

Name: Raybow Hotel
Location: Takoradi
Address: Box 906, Takoradi
Telephone: 031-22072
Fax: 031-23960
Email: [email protected]
Rating: 2-Star
Room Types: Suite, Chalet
Facilities: Air Conditioning, Restaurant, Room Service, Safe for Valuables, Swimming Pool, Television

Name: B and Q Guest House
Location: Nkroful
Address: Box 31, Nkroful
Telephone: 233 342-22377/ 0342-22340/ 20 8245581
Fax: No information found
Email: [email protected]
Rating: 2-Star
Room Types: Twin, Suite
Facilities: Air Conditioning

Name: Golden Lemon Guest House
Location: 4th Street, Tesano
Address: Box 91, Stadium Accra
Telephone: +233 21-231747, 07944438042
Fax: Fax: +233 21-231747
Email: [email protected]
Rating: Guest
Room Types: Single, Double
Facilities: No information found

Name: Axim Beach Resort
Location: Axim
Address: Box 180, Axim
Telephone: 233 342 22260
Fax: 233 342 22706
Email: [email protected]
Rating: 1-Star
Room Types: Chalet
Facilities: Air Conditioning

Room Type
Facilities Mapped Location?
Name

Your Hotel Search Results
25 to 36 of 808 Prev Page

Page 3 of 68
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Name: HOTEL RHEMA(TRAVEL & TOURS) map available
Location: ASHALEY BOTWE
Address: PMB 74 KIA-AIRPORT, ACCRA
Telephone: 233 2150 4077/233 2431 80689
Fax: 233 2437 80724
Email: [email protected]
Rating: 1-Star
Room Types: No information found
Facilities: No information found

Name: Frankies Food and Rooms map available
Location: Osu Re
Address: Box CT 4499,Cantoments
Telephone: 773567
Fax: Fax 773567
Email: [email protected]
Rating: 2-Star
Room Types: Single, Double
Facilities: No information found

Name: Chances Hotel – poor reviews
Location: Ho
Address: Box 605, Ho
Telephone: 091-28344
Fax: 091-27083
Email: E-mail: Chanceshotel@hot mail.com
Rating: 5-Star
Room Types: Chalet
Facilities: No information found

Name: Chez Lien Hotel Annex
Location: Osu
Address: H/N F33/4, Dadebu Rd, Osu
Box 16003, KIA – Accra
Telephone: 233 21 775356
Fax: Fax: 233 21 775357
Email: [email protected]
Rating: Guest
Room Types: Double
Facilities: No information found

Name: Avenida Hotel
Location: Adabraka
Address: Box 756, Accra
Telephone: 233 21 22135/ 220321
Fax: 226057
Email: [email protected]
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Single, Double, Twin
Facilities: No information found

Name: Ashanti Gold Hotel
Location: Bantama Kumasi
Address: Box KS.233 Kumasi
Telephone: 233 51 25875/ 20-8116128
Fax: 233 51 20092
Email: [email protected]
Rating: 2-Star
Room Types: Single, Double, Twin, Suite
Facilities: Air Conditioning

Name: Arewa Sunshine Hotel
Location: Tamale
Address: Box 1875, Tamale
Telephone: 233 71 23991
Fax: 233 71 23992
Email: [email protected]
Rating: 2-Star
Room Types: Double, Twin, Suite
Facilities: Air Conditioning

Name: Apollo Hotel
Location: Tema Comm.11
Address: Box 1680, Tema
Telephone: 23322 306417/ 22 301982
Fax: No information found
Email: [email protected]
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Double
Facilities: No information found

Name: Anomabo Beach Resort map available
Location: Anomabo
Address: Box 52, Anomabo
Telephone: 233 42-33801/35801/91562/0244-331731//021-221111
Fax: 233 21-230806
Email: [email protected]
Rating: 1-Star
Room Types: Single, Double
Facilities: Air Conditioning, IDD Line, Restaurant, Room Service, Safe for Valuables

Name: Akapii Guest House
Location: Prestea
Address: Box 50, Prestea
Telephone: 233 24 4459302
Fax: No information found
Email: [email protected]
Rating: Guest
Room Types: Single, Double
Facilities: No information found

Name: Airside Hotel map available
Location: Airport Residential Area
Address: Box CT 1570, Cantoments
Telephone: 233 21 760480(0)21-783844/ 765768
Fax: 233 21 765765
Email: [email protected]
Rating: 2-Star
Room Types: Single, Double, Suite
Facilities: No information found

Name: Africa Beach Guest House
Location: Takoradi
Address: Box 648,Takoradi
Telephone: 233 (0) 31 23466/ (0)31 25148
Fax: 233 (0)31 21666
Email: [email protected]
Rating: Guest
Room Types: Single, Double, Suite
Facilities: Air Conditioning, Restaurant, Room Service, Television

Name: Backstage Guest House
Location: Teshie Nungua
Address: Box TN 410,Teshie-Nungua Estate
Telephone: 233 21 712635
Fax: No information found
Email: [email protected]
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Double
Facilities: No information found

Name: Bay View Hotel
Location: East Legon
Address: Box: 18124, Airport
Telephone: 233 21 507887
Fax: 233 21 507890
Email: [email protected]
Rating: 2-Star
Room Types: Single, Double, Twin
Facilities: Air Conditioning

Name: Ampomah Guest House
Location: East Legon
Address: Box 777, Kaneshie
Telephone: 507488/7
Fax: Fax: 507489
Email: [email protected]
Rating: Guest
Room Types: Single, Twin, Chalet
Facilities: Air Conditioning

Name: La Palm Royal Beach Hotel map available
Location: La
Address: Box OS 3000, Accra
Telephone: 771642/4/7010354
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Unclassified
Room Types: Single, Double, Double, Double, Suite, Suite, Suite
Facilities: Conference Rooms, Fitness Center, Internet Service, Restaurant, Room Service, Swimming Pool, Television

Name: Penta Hotel map available
Location: Osu. R.E.
Address: Box 7354,Accra-North
Telephone: penta_hotel1.jpg
Fax: Front View of the Hotel
Email: No information found
Rating: 2-Star
Room Types: Single, Double, Suite
Facilities: No information found

Name: Alisa Hotel map available
Location: Labone
Address: Box C 1111, Cantonments
Telephone: 233 21 768291
Fax: 233 21 708300
Email: No information found
Rating: 3-Star
Room Types: Single, Double, Twin, Suite, Chalet
Facilities: Air Conditioning

Name: Abidjan Hotel
Location: Dichemso Kumasi
Address: Box KS. 3053 Kumasi
Telephone: 051- 25539
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Single, Double
Facilities: No information found

Name: Ahema Guest House
Location: Bantama Kumasi
Address: Box KS. 6996, Kumasi
Telephone: 051-27650/020-8124391
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Single, Double
Facilities: No information found

Name: Sunlodge Hotel
Location: Tesano
Address: Box 6909 Accra-North
Telephone: 229795/229758
Fax: Fax: 242238
Email: No information found
Rating: 2-Star
Room Types: Single, Double, Suite
Facilities: No information found

Name: Acacia Lodge Ltd
Location: North Kaneshie
Address: Box 11492, Accra-North
Telephone: 231135
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Guest
Room Types: Single, Double, Suite
Facilities: No information found

Name: Beverly Hills Hotel & Restaurant
Location: Asylum Down
Address: Box 182, Accra
Telephone: 233 21 224042
Fax: 233 21 242532
Email: No information found
Rating: 1-Star
Room Types: Single, Double, Twin
Facilities: Air Conditioning

Name: Afisem Hotel
Location: Kotobabi
Address: Box 396, Achimota
Telephone: 233 21 225010
Fax: Fax: 304958
Email: No information found
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Single
Facilities: No information found

Name: AAMS Hotel
Location: Kokomlemle
Address: Box 6261, Accra North
Telephone: 233 24 363238/ 239331/ 228108
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Single, Double, Twin
Facilities: No information found

Name: Adzortor Hotel
Location: Logba Alakpeti
Address: Box 67, Hohoe
Telephone: 233 24 4812312
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Single, Double
Facilities: No information found

Name: 4 Villages Inn
Location: Daban
Address: Box KS. 3374, Kumasi
Telephone: 233 51 22682/ 233 277 403603
Fax: Fax: 051-22682
Email: No information found
Rating: Guest
Room Types: Single, Double
Facilities: No information found

Name: Adom Guest House
Location: Berekum
Address: Box 250, Berekum
Telephone: 0042-22192
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Single, Double
Facilities: No information found

Name: Aowinman Hotel
Location: Enchi
Address: Box 79, Enchi
Telephone: 031-22067
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Single, Double
Facilities: No information found

Name: Akwaaba Hotel
Location: Enchi
Address: Box 33, Enchi
Telephone: 031-22068
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Double
Facilities: No information found

Name: Lake Bosomtwe Paradise Resort
Location: Abonu Lake road
Address: Box KS. 9995, Kumasi
Telephone: 051-20164
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Guest
Room Types: Double
Facilities: No information found

Name: Alhassan Hotel
Location: Tamale
Address: Box 73, Tamale
Telephone: 071-23638
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Single, Double, Twin
Facilities: No information found

Name: Akpe Na Mawu
Location: Ho
Address: Box 726, Ho
Telephone: 091-28156
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Single, Double, Twin
Facilities: No information found

Name: Africana Hotel
Location: Teshie
Address: Box 20, Teshie
Telephone: 233 (0) 21 711108
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Double
Facilities: No information found

Name: Ahenfie Beach Hotel
Location: Kumasi Road Takoradi
Address: Box 0684, Takoradi
Telephone: 233 (0) 31 22966/ 24272/ 21267/ 22964
Fax: 233 (0) 31 22007/ (0) 31 21267
Email: No information found
Rating: 2-Star
Room Types: Single, Double, Twin, Suite
Facilities: No information found

Name: Agyeiwaa Memorial Hotel
Location: Techiman
Address: Box: 35, Techiman
Telephone: 233 (0) 653 22074
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: 1-Star
Room Types: Single, Double, Twin
Facilities: No information found

Name: Apple Hotel
Location: Tema Comm.4
Address: Box 54, Tema
Telephone: 233 (0)22 204617
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Double
Facilities: No information found

Name: Beach Comber Guest House
Location: Nungua
Address: Box 1234,TeshieNungua Estate
Telephone: 233 20 8118314/ 233 21 712986
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Single, Double
Facilities: No information found

Name: Adagye Gardens
Location: Odumasi Sunyani
Address: Box 241, Odumasi Sunyani
Telephone: 233 20 8230454
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Double
Facilities: No information found

Name: Amical Hotel
Location: Tema Comm. 1
Address: Box 825, Tema
Telephone: 233 21 22 206009
Fax: 233 21 204943
Email: No information found
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Single, Double, Twin
Facilities: No information found

Name: Avenue Club Hotel
Location: Adabraka
Address: Box 2968, Accra
Telephone: 233 21 222679
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Single, Double
Facilities: No information found

Name: Assurance Hotel
Location: Tesano
Address: Box 4019, Accra
Telephone: 233 21 228299
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Single, Twin
Facilities: No information found

Name: Akwaada Nyame Hotel
Location: Dansoman
Address: Box 504, Dansoman
Telephone: 233 21 308076
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Single, Double, Twin
Facilities: No information found

Name: Berliner Guest House
Location: North Taifa
Address: Box AT 624, Achimota
Telephone: 233 21 406519
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Single, Double
Facilities: No information found

Name: Amkred Guest House
Location: Cape Coast
Address: Box 124, UCC C.C
Telephone: 233 21 42 32868
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Guest
Room Types: Single, Double, Twin
Facilities: No information found

Name: Bellview Hotel
Location: Tudu
Address: Box 10 TUC
Telephone: 233 21 667730
Fax: 233 21 665838
Email: No information found
Rating: 1-Star
Room Types: Single, Double, Twin
Facilities: Air Conditioning

Name: Alton Hotel and Tours
Location: Nungua
Address: Box 415, Accra
Telephone: 233 21 713326/7
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: 1-Star
Room Types: Single, Double, Suite
Facilities: Air Conditioning

Name: Akwaaba Beach Guest House
Location: Teshie Nungua
Address: Box 1387, T. Nungua
Telephone: 233 21 717742/ 024 280028
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Guest
Room Types: Single, Chalet, Chalet
Facilities: No information found

Name: Joska Lodge
Location: Osu
Address: Box 868 Osu, Accra
Telephone: 233 21 774808, 765911
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Single, Double, Twin
Facilities: No information found

Name: Alrose Hotel
Location: Takoradi
Address: Box 748, Takoradi
Telephone: 233 2181 24230
Fax: 233 21 81 21109
Email: No information found
Rating: 2-Star
Room Types: Single, Double
Facilities: Air Conditioning

Name: Bella Lodge
Location: Tema Comm.5
Address: Box BT 216, Tema
Telephone: 233 22 203219
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Double
Facilities: No information found

Name: Big Milly’s Backyard
Location: Kokrobite
Address: Box 11167, Accra North
Telephone: 233 24 2206961/ 233 244 607998
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Single, Double, Chalet
Facilities: No information found

Name: Alaska Beach Hotel
Location: Busua
Address: Box 80, Agona-Nkwanta
Telephone: 233 24 268599/ 243 054812
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Single, Double
Facilities: No information found

Name: Awuakyewaa Hotel
Location: Kade
Address: Box 41, Kade
Telephone: 233 243 571403
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Single, Double, Twin
Facilities: No information found

Name: Benkum Motel
Location: Atimpoku
Address: Box 36, Akosombo
Telephone: 233 25120050
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Single, Double
Facilities: No information found

Name: Aakway Lodge
Location: Adeiso
Address: Box 25, Adeiso
Telephone: 233 27 7541830
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Single, Double
Facilities: No information found

Name: Aduana Hotel
Location: Asokwa Kumasi
Address: Box: ST 192, Kumasi
Telephone: 233 27 880713/ 51 35515/ 243 940356
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Single, Double, Twin
Facilities: No information found

Name: Apollo ’11’ Hotel
Location: Takoradi
Address: Box 0242, Takoradi
Telephone: 233 31-23771
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Single, Double, Chalet
Facilities: No information found

Name: Ankobra Beach Hotel
Location: Axim
Address: Box 79, Axim
Telephone: 233 342 22400/ 22401
Fax: 233 342 22400
Email: No information found
Rating: 1-Star
Room Types: Single, Double
Facilities: Air Conditioning

Name: Biah Lodge
Location: Parakuo Estates
Address: Box KW.31 Kwadaso-Kumasi
Telephone: 233 51 20442
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: 1-Star
Room Types: Single, Double, Twin, Suite
Facilities: Air Conditioning

Name: Ash Food Court Hotel
Location: Bantama Kumasi
Address: Box KS.952, Kumasi
Telephone: 233 51 22917
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Double, Suite
Facilities: No information found

Name: Ashanti Paradise Hotel
Location: Ridge Kumasi
Address: Box KS.187, Kumasi
Telephone: 233 51 22917
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Single, Double, Suite
Facilities: No information found

Name: Adu-Boafo Lodge
Location: Danyame Kumasi
Address: Box GPO Kumasi
Telephone: 233 51 23437/ 51 25350
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: 1-Star
Room Types: Double
Facilities: No information found

Name: Ask Guest House
Location: Kwadaso Kumasi
Address: Box KS. 474, Kumasi
Telephone: 233 51 26841/ 21 313437
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: 1-Star
Room Types: Single, Double
Facilities: Air Conditioning

Name: Balance Hotel
Location: Krofrom Kumasi
Address: Box KS.21,Kumasi
Telephone: 233 51 27717/8
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Single, Double, Twin, Chalet
Facilities: No information found

Name: Adom Wo Wim Hotel
Location: Obuasi
Address: Box OB. 237, Obuasi
Telephone: 233 51 40797
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Single
Facilities: No information found

Name: Ayigya Hotel Annex
Location: Ayigya Kumasi
Address: Box KS 3515, Kumasi
Telephone: 233 51 60176
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Single, Double
Facilities: No information found

Name: Adansi Nyamekye Guest House
Location: Akrokerri Kumasi
Address: Box OB. 2416,Obuasi
Telephone: 233 51 91414
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Single, Double
Facilities: No information found

Name: Afrakoma Hotel
Location: Konogo/Odumasi
Address: Box:OD 5, Odumasi
Telephone: 233 531 24339
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Single, Double, Twin
Facilities: No information found

Name: Anim Guest House
Location: Konongo
Address: Box K 83,Konongo
Telephone: 233 53124381
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Single, Double, Chalet
Facilities: No information found

Name: Amankwaa Adade Hotel
Location: Ejura
Address: Box EJ. 1, Ejura
Telephone: 233 565 22038
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Single, Double
Facilities: No information found

Name: Afuofie Hotel
Location: Atebubu
Address: Box 76, Atebubu
Telephone: 233 567 22090
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Double, Twin
Facilities: No information found

Room Type
Facilities Mapped Location?
Name

Your Hotel Search Results
97 to 108 of 808 Prev Page

Page 9 of 68
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Name: Anyinam Lodge
Location: Obuasi
Address: Box OB. 669 Obuasi,
Telephone: 233 582- 40478/ 40473
Fax: 233 582 40367
Email: No information found
Rating: 2-Star
Room Types: Single, Twin, Suite
Facilities: Air Conditioning

Name: Ansu Hotel
Location: Japekrom
Address: Box 10,Japekrom
Telephone: 233 642-22333
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Single
Facilities: No information found

Name: Baah Hotel
Location: Wenchi
Address: Box 202, Wenchi
Telephone: 233 652 22690
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Single, Double
Facilities: No information found

Name: Baobab Guest House
Location: Tamale
Address: Box 185, Tamale
Telephone: 233 71 22672/ 22070/ 26271/70
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: 1-Star
Room Types: Single, Double, Twin
Facilities: Air Conditioning

Name: Bigiza Court Guest House
Location: Tamale
Address: Box 469, Tamale
Telephone: 233 71 23531/ 23127
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Guest
Room Types: Single, Double, Suite
Facilities: No information found

Name: Atta Essibi Hotel
Location: Dohinayili
Address: Box 223, Tamale
Telephone: 233 71 23638
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Single, Double, Twin
Facilities: No information found

Name: Ankobea Guest House
Location: Kibi
Address: Box 5, Kibi
Telephone: 233 81 30771
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Single
Facilities: No information found

Name: 1st Stop Guest House
Location: Asamankese
Address: Box 304, Asamankese
Telephone: 233 81 91090/ 233 243 290220
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Single, Double
Facilities: No information found

Name: Afegame Guest House
Location: Gbi Kledko
Address: Box 35, Hohoe
Telephone: 233 935 22591
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Twin
Facilities: No information found

Name: Abutia Guest
Location: Abutia Keta
Address: Box 166, Abutia-Keta
Telephone: 233 966 42499
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Single, Double
Facilities: No information found

Name: Aknac Lodge
Location: Bohyen Kumasi
Address: Box KS 167,Kumasi
Telephone: Tel: 051-28774/5
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Guest
Room Types: Single, Double, Twin
Facilities: No information found

Name: White Orange Hotel
Location: Bohyen Kumasi
Address: Box KS 9667, Kumasi
Telephone: 051-35486
Fax: No information found
Email: [email protected]
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Single
Facilities: No information found

Name: Whispers Guest House
Location: Odeneho Kwadaso
Address: Box KS. 6250, Kumasi
Telephone: Tel: 051-28643
Fax: No information found
Email: [email protected]
Rating: Guest
Room Types: Single, Double, Chalet
Facilities: No information found

Name: Volta Hotel
Location: Akosombo
Address: Box AB 25, Akosombo
Telephone: 021-662639/662649/0251-20731
Fax: Fax: 021-663791
Email: [email protected]
Rating: 3-Star
Room Types: Single, Double
Facilities: No information found

Name: Trustfort
Location: TUC Estates and Odeneho Kwadaso Kumasi
Address: P. O. BOX 6796 – TUC Kumasi
Telephone: 051 – 26101/27748
Fax: 024-662025
Email: [email protected]
Rating: Budget
Room Types: No information found
Facilities: No information found

Name: Tills No. 1 Hotel
Location: Gomoah Feteh
Address: Box 4, Gomoa Fetteh
Telephone: 0277-550480/021-304890
Fax: 027-558247
Email: [email protected]
Rating: 2-Star
Room Types: Single, Double, Chalet
Facilities: No information found

Name: Sanat-Minat Lodge
Location: Bolgatanga
Address: Box 756, Bolgatanga
Telephone: 072-23511
Fax: Fax: 072-23994
Email: [email protected]
Rating: Guest
Room Types: Single, Double, Twin
Facilities: No information found

Name: Relax Lodge
Location: Tamale
Address: Box 1149, Tamale
Telephone: 071-24981
Fax: Fax: 071-24978
Email: [email protected]
Rating: Unclassified
Room Types: Single, Double, Twin
Facilities: No information found

Name: Planter’s Lodge
Location: Dixcove Hill Takoradi
Address: Box 1096, Takoradi
Telephone: 031-22233
Fax: Fax: 22230
Email: planters@[email protected]
Rating: 2-Star
Room Types: Suite
Facilities: No information found

Name: Pink Panther
Location: Adiebeba Kumasi
Address: Box KS. 3142, Kumasi
Telephone: 051-38341
Fax: Fax: 051-38340
Email: [email protected]
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Single, Double, Suite
Facilities: No information found

Name: Pink Hostel
Location: Located at Asylum Down Accra
Address: P. O. Box KIA 9732
Accra-Ghana
Telephone: 233-21-256710
Fax: 233-21-256712
Email: [email protected]
Rating: Guest
Room Types: Single, Double
Facilities: No information found

Name: One Africa Guest House
Location: Elmina
Address: Box 1251, Cape Coast
Telephone: 020-8195483/042-40021
Fax: Fax: 042-40021
Email: [email protected]
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Chalet
Facilities: No information found

Name: Modern City Hotel
Location: Tamale
Address: Box 124, Tamale
Telephone: 071-24473/6/7/89/98
Fax: 071-24493
Email: [email protected]
Rating: 1-Star
Room Types: Double, Twin, Suite
Facilities: No information found

Name: Mole Motel
Location: Mole National Park Damongo
Address: Box 84, Damango
Telephone: 071-722045/0244-694815
Fax: No information found
Email: [email protected]
Rating: 1-Star
Room Types: Single, Double, Twin
Facilities: No information found

Name: Catering Rest House
Location: Adum Kumasi
Address: Box KS. 3179, Kumasi
Telephone: 051-26506/23656
Fax: Fax: 051-23656
Email: [email protected]
Rating: 2-Star
Room Types: Single, Double, Suite
Facilities: No information found

Name: Kosa Cultural Centre map available
Location: Ampenyi
Address: Box 812, Cape Coast
Telephone: 0244-375432
Fax: 042-33046
Email: [email protected]
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Single, Double
Facilities: No information found

Name: Hendin Court Guest House
Location: Regimanuel Estate
Address: Box GP 222, Accra
Telephone: 701059
Fax: No information found
Email: [email protected]
Rating: Guest
Room Types: Single, Double
Facilities: No information found

Name: Jabez Hotel
Location: Agona Swedru
Address: Box 857, Agona Swedru
Telephone: 0432-22375/041-20488
Fax: Fax: 041-20473
Email: [email protected]
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Single, Double
Facilities: No information found

Name: Greenland Hotel
Location: Agona Swedru
Address: Box AG 189, Agona Swedru
Telephone: 041-20062-5
Fax: Fax: 041-20061
Email: [email protected]
Rating: Unclassified
Room Types: Single, Double, Suite
Facilities: No information found

Name: Hotel St. Patrick
Location: Akorem Kumasi
Address: Box FNT 195, Fanti New Town
Telephone: 051-45234
Fax: Fax: 051-45237
Email: [email protected]
Rating: 1-Star
Room Types: Single, Double
Facilities: No information found

Name: Hexagon Guest House
Location: Ola Cape House
Address: Box 416, Cape Coast
Telephone: 042-33711/0244-549918
Fax: Fax: 042-33711
Email: [email protected]
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Double
Facilities: No information found

Name: Hans Cottage Botel
Location: Cape Coast
Address: Box 1240,Cape-Coast
Telephone: 042-33621/3
Fax: Fax: 042-33623
Email: [email protected]
Rating: 1-Star
Room Types: Single, Twin, Twin, Suite
Facilities: No information found

Name: Mighty Victory Hotel
Location: Cape Coast
Address: Box AD 1193, Cape Coast
Telephone: 042-30142/30135
Fax: Fax: 042-30142
Email: [email protected]
Rating: Guest
Room Types: Single, Double
Facilities: No information found

Name: Gariba Lodge
Location: Tamale
Address: Box: 541, Tamale
Telephone: 071-23371/23041-3
Fax: Fax: 071-23371/23040
Email: [email protected]
Rating: 2-Star
Room Types: Single, Double, Twin
Facilities: No information found

Name: Freedom Hotel
Location: Ho
Address: Box 739, Ho
Telephone: 091-28151/28158/26970
Fax: Fax: 091-26967
Email: [email protected]
Rating: 2-Star
Room Types: Single, Double, Twin
Facilities: No information found

Name: Ticcs Guest House
Location: Tamale
Address: Box 1012, Tamale
Telephone: 071-22836/22914
Fax: No information found
Email: Email:ticcs@africaonline
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Single, Double
Facilities: No information found

Name: Gillbt Guest House
Location: Tamale
Address: Box 378, Tamale
Telephone: 071-22341/23709
Fax: No information found
Email: Email:KGH-GILLBT@silorg
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Single, Double, Twin, Suite, Chalet
Facilities: No information found

Name: Blue Angels Guest House
Location: Dzorwulu
Address: Box 0427, Osu
Telephone: 772352
Fax: 772352
Email: E-mail: bansel @ africaonline.com.gh
Rating: Guest
Room Types: Double, Twin
Facilities: No information found

Name: Hillcrest Hotel
Location: Chapel Hil Takoradi
Address: Box 634, Takoradi
Telephone: 22277/22773
Fax: 031-24381/23646
Email: E-Mail : Hillcrest Africaonline. Com. Gh.
Rating: 3-Star
Room Types: Double, Twin
Facilities: No information found

Name: Brenu Beach Lodge
Location: Brenu Akyinim
Address: Box 1002, Cape Coast
Telephone: 042-33907
Fax: No information found
Email: Em: [email protected]
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Single, Twin
Facilities: No information found

Name: Lord’s Guest Inn
Location: Pedu Cape Coast
Address: Box 673, Cape Coast
Telephone: 042-30449
Fax: No information found
Email: Em. Lord’[email protected]
Rating: Guest
Room Types: Double
Facilities: No information found

Name: Crown Apartamento
Location: Airport Residential Area
Address: P O Box C3098,Cantonments
Telephone: 762941/771712
Fax: Fax:762942
Email: [email protected]
Rating: 3-Star
Room Types: Single, Double
Facilities: No information found

Name: Cresta Royale Hotel map available
Location: Dzorwulu
Address: Motorway Extension,
North Dzorwulu, Accra
PMB 163 Cantonments, Accra
Telephone: 233 21 517 411, 517 554
Fax: Fax: 233 21 517 556
Email: [email protected]
Rating: 5-Star
Room Types: No information found
Facilities: No information found

Name: Villa Cisneros Resort
Location: Sogakope
Address: Box 96 , Sogakope
Telephone: 091-28494/28608
Fax: 0244-220624
Email: [email protected]
Rating: 3-Star
Room Types: Single, Double, Suite, Chalet
Facilities: No information found

Name: Catholic Unity Centre
Location: Damango
Address: Box DM 87, Damango
Telephone: 0717-22051/22101/22053
Fax: No information found
Email: [email protected]
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Single, Twin
Facilities: No information found

Name: Cape Coast Hotel
Location: Cape Coast
Address: Box 157, Cape Coast
Telephone: 042-33547/32919
Fax: Fax: 042-33547
Email: [email protected]
Rating: 2-Star
Room Types: Single, Double
Facilities: No information found

Name: Busua Beach Resort
Location: Busua
Address: Box A.A.80, Agona Nkwanta
Telephone: 031-21210/21858-9/ 031- 21893/21897
Fax: Fax: 031-21859
Email: [email protected]
Rating: 3-Star
Room Types: Single, Double, Twin
Facilities: No information found

Name: Black Star Hotel map available
Location: Bolgatanga
Address: Box 40, Bolgatanga
Telephone: 072-22346/23446
Fax: Fax: 072-23042
Email: [email protected]
Rating: 1-Star
Room Types: Single, Double, Twin
Facilities: No information found

Name: SSNIT Guest House
Location: Ringway Estates
Address: Box M149
Telephone: 226228/225366
Fax: Fax: 225879
Email: ssnit [email protected]
Rating: 2-Star
Room Types: Single, Double
Facilities: No information found

Name: Sam’s Cottage Hotelf
Location: Dzorwulu
Address: Box LG 446, Legon
Telephone: 503604
Fax: Fax: 503605
Email: sam’s cot @ gh.com
Rating: 2-Star
Room Types: Single, Double, Twin
Facilities: No information found

Name: Hotel Marymart
Location: Ring Road Central
Address: Box 5316, Accra North
Telephone: 221611
Fax: No information found
Email: [email protected]
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Single, Double, Twin, Suite
Facilities: No information found

Name: Lolababy Hotel
Location: West Dome
Address: Box KN 1275
Telephone: 403387
Fax: Fax: 407504
Email: lolababy @ghana.com
Rating: 1-Star
Room Types: Single, Double, Twin
Facilities: No information found

Name: Labadi Beach Hotel map available
Location: La
Address: Box 1, Trade Fair
Telephone: 772501
Fax: Fax: 772520
Email: No information found
Rating: 5-Star
Room Types: Single, Double, Suite
Facilities: No information found

Name: Golden Tulip Hotel map available
Location: Cantonments
Address: Liberation Road,
Box 16033, Airport
Accra
Telephone: (233) 21 775360
Fax: Fax: (233) 21 775361
Email: No information found
Rating: 4-Star
Room Types: Single, Double
Facilities: No information found

Name: Dot’s Inn map available
Location: Labone
Address: Box 7880, Accra North
Telephone: 774744
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Guest
Room Types: Single, Double, Suite
Facilities: No information found

Name: Transit Lodge map available
Location: East Cantoment
Address: Box 12125, Accra-North
Telephone: 775164
Fax: 761943/761946
Email: No information found
Rating: 2-Star
Room Types: Single, Double, Twin, Chalet
Facilities: No information found

Name: Eastoment Guest Lodge map available
Location: East Cantonments
Address: Box CT 1318,Cantonments
Telephone: 773541
Fax: Fax:762109
Email: No information found
Rating: Guest
Room Types: Single, Double, Twin, Suite
Facilities: No information found

Name: Royal Ravico Hotel
Location: Nungua
Address: Box 165, Nungua
Telephone: 712797
Fax: Fax: 712804
Email: No information found
Rating: 3-Star
Room Types: Single, Double, Suite
Facilities: No information found

Name: Elmina Beach Resort
Location: Elmina
Address: Box 268, Elmina
Telephone: 33474
Fax: 33475
Email: No information found
Rating: 3-Star
Room Types: Single, Double, Twin, Suite
Facilities: No information found

Name: Vision Hotel map available
Location: Berekum
Address: Box 220, Berekum
Telephone: 0642-22278
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: 3-Star
Room Types: Single, Double
Facilities: No information found

Name: Prince Hotel map available
Location: Aflao
Address: Box 264, Aflao
Telephone: 0962-30264
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Single, Double, Twin
Facilities: No information found

Name: Alliance Hotel map available
Location: Yeji
Address: Box 30, Yeji
Telephone: 0568-22029
Fax: 0568-22091
Email: No information found
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Single, Double
Facilities: No information found

Name: Holiday Hotel map available
Location: Airport Residential Area
Address: Box 8457,Airport
Telephone: 773660
Fax: Fax: 233-21 773432
Email: No information found
Rating: 2-Star
Room Types: Double, Twin
Facilities: No information found

Name: Central Hotel map available
Location: Ridge
Address: Box C 4444, Accra
Telephone: 7010600
Fax: Fax: 243330
Email: No information found
Rating: Unclassified
Room Types: Double, Twin
Facilities: No information found

Name: Granada Hotel map available
Location: Airport Residential Area
Address: Box C 3041,Cantoments
Telephone: 775343/4
Fax: Fax:774880
Email: No information found
Rating: 2-Star
Room Types: Single, Double, Twin
Facilities: No information found

Name: Hotel Shangri-La map available
Location: Airport Residential Area
Address: Box 9201 K.I.A
Telephone: 776111/776993/4
Fax: Fax: 774873
Email: No information found
Rating: 3-Star
Room Types: Single, Double, Twin
Facilities: No information found

Name: Hotel Wangara map available
Location: Labone
Address: Box 6565, Accra
Telephone: 772525/772438
Fax: Fax: 233-21 772438
Email: No information found
Rating: 3-Star
Room Types: Single, Double, Suite
Facilities: No information found

Name: Franco Tavern Hotel
Location: Tema Comm. 8
Address: Box 12, 59, Tema
Telephone: 022-306835
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Double
Facilities: No information found

Name: O’Right Guest Inn
Location: Akim Oda
Address: Box 477, Akim Oda
Telephone: 822-2168
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Single, Double, Twin
Facilities: No information found

Name: Hotel Joe Carl
Location: Tema C 6
Address: Box BT 398, Tema
Telephone: (0) 22 200093/4
Fax: Fax: 200095
Email: No information found
Rating: 2-Star
Room Types: Single, Double, Suite
Facilities: No information found

Name: Hotel Los Palmitos
Location: Tema Comm.10
Address: Box CO. 2276, Tema
Telephone: (0) 22:300738/9
Fax: Fax: (0) 22:300706
Email: No information found
Rating: Unclassified
Room Types: Single, Double, Twin
Facilities: No information found

Name: Preston Park Hotel
Location: Tema Comm. 1
Address: Box SC 177, Tema
Telephone: (0) 22-204181
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Guest
Room Types: Single, Double, Suite
Facilities: No information found

Name: Le Domino Guest House
Location: Tema Comm.5
Address: Box 8517, Tema
Telephone: (0) 22-204452
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Double
Facilities: No information found

Name: Harbour Terrace Hotel
Location: Tema Comm.2
Address: Box 2811, Tema
Telephone: (0) 22-205437
Fax: Fax: (0) 22-205436
Email: No information found
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Single, Double
Facilities: No information found

Name: Sabrina Inn
Location: Tema Comm. 1
Address: Box 8798, Tema
Telephone: (0) 22-206852
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Single
Facilities: No information found

Name: Pleasant Chalets
Location: Tema C. 6
Address: Box 544, Tema
Telephone: (0) 22-206944
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Guest
Room Types: Double
Facilities: No information found

Name: Vigotel Hotel
Location: Tema Comm.11
Address: Box CS8367, Tema
Telephone: (0) 22-306154
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Double
Facilities: No information found

Name: Tema Guest Inn
Location: Tema Comm.7
Address: Box 596, Tema
Telephone: (0) 22-306580
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Double
Facilities: No information found

Name: Seadel Guest House
Location: Sakumono
Address: Box SK 145 Sakumomo
Telephone: (0) 22-401555
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Single, Double, Suite
Facilities: No information found

Name: Commville Hotel
Location: Tema Comm. 2
Address: Box 182, Tema
Telephone: (0)22-206264
Fax: Fax:( 0) 22-203081
Email: No information found
Rating: 1-Star
Room Types: Single, Double
Facilities: No information found

Name: Wisfree Guest House
Location: Tema Comm.10
Address: Box B72, Tema
Telephone: (0)22-302558
Fax: Fax:(0) 22-306041
Email: No information found
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Single, Double
Facilities: No information found

Name: Celebrity Golf Club & Holiday Resort
Location: Sakumono
Address: Box 1135, Tema Sakumono
Telephone: (0)22-401176/7
Fax: Fax: (0)22-401176
Email: No information found
Rating: 1-Star
Room Types: Double
Facilities: No information found

Name: Emmanuel Inn
Location: Techiman
Address: Box 142, Techiman
Telephone: (0653) 2063
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Single, Double
Facilities: No information found

Name: Eredec Hotel
Location: Koforidua
Address: Box 979, Koforidua
Telephone: (081) 24265
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Single, Double, Suite
Facilities: No information found

Name: De Frank Guest House
Location: Ahwiaa Kumasi
Address: Box KS. 10014, Kumasi
Telephone: 020-2110768/ 024-274124
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Guest
Room Types: Single, Double
Facilities: No information found

Name: Hill Top Gardens
Location: Obrachere
Address: Box 347,Teshie Nungua Estates
Telephone: 021-222164
Fax: 020-8110621
Email: No information found
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Double
Facilities: No information found

Name: New Timers Hotel
Location: Kasoa
Address: Box 15378, A/R North
Telephone: 021-245791
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: 1-Star
Room Types: Single, Double, Suite
Facilities: No information found

Name: Lipan Hotel
Location: Tema Comm.5
Address: Box 8141, Tema
Telephone: 022-206014
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: 1-Star
Room Types: Single, Double
Facilities: No information found

Name: Lucia Hotel
Location: Tema Comm.8
Address: Box 8706, Tema
Telephone: 022-306134
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: 1-Star
Room Types: Single, Double, Twin, Suite
Facilities: No information found

Name: Great Gardens Hotel
Location: Odorkor
Address: Box 17, Tema
Telephone: 022-306249
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: 1-Star
Room Types: Single, Double, Twin
Facilities: No information found

Name: Sand Piper Hotel
Location: Kokrobite
Address: Box 1642, Cape Coast
Telephone: 024-336591
Fax: 020-8116369
Email: No information found
Rating: Unclassified
Room Types: Single, Double
Facilities: No information found

Name: To Be Guest House
Location: Gyinase Kumasi
Address: Box AS. 56, Kumasi
Telephone: 024-374642
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Single
Facilities: No information found

Name: Divine lodge
Location: Bibiani
Address: Box 133, Bibiani
Telephone: 024-462029
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Double, Twin
Facilities: No information found

Name: Palm Hill Hotel
Location: Akropong
Address: Box 109, Somanya
Telephone: 027 587070
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Double
Facilities: No information found

Name: Day & Nite Hotel
Location: Kwashieman
Address: Box 91, State Transport, Accra
Telephone: 027-578145
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Single, Double, Twin
Facilities: No information found

Name: Esenam Hotel
Location: Ngyiresia Sekondi
Address: Box 274, Sekondi
Telephone: 031- 46616
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Double, Twin, Suite
Facilities: No information found

Name: Hotel Arvo
Location: Collins Avenue Takoradi
Address: Box 0269, Takoradi
Telephone: 031-21530
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Single, Double
Facilities: No information found

Name: Hotel Brenguano
Location: Suaman Dadieso
Address: Box 0911, Suaman
Telephone: 031-22995
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Double
Facilities: No information found

Name: F.S.M Hotel
Location: Kwesimintim Takoradi
Address: Box 193, Takoradi
Telephone: 031-23527
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Single, Double
Facilities: No information found

Name: King James Hotel
Location: Elubo
Address: Box 81, Elubo
Telephone: 0345-22025
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Single, Double
Facilities: No information found

Name: Morning Star Hotel
Location: Tarkwa
Address: Box 370, Tarkwa
Telephone: 0369-20355
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: 1-Star
Room Types: Double, Twin
Facilities: No information found

Name: Tandoh’s Hotel
Location: Kwabedu Tarkwa
Address: Box TK 145
Telephone: 0369-20387
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Single, Double, Twin
Facilities: No information found

Name: Peace Hotel
Location: Tarkwa
Address: Box 583, Tarkwa
Telephone: 0369-20557
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: 1-Star
Room Types: Double
Facilities: No information found

Name: Marnico Guest
Location: Cape Coast
Address: Box 1138, Cape Coast
Telephone: 042-33210
Fax: 042- 33211
Email: No information found
Rating: 1-Star
Room Types: Suite
Facilities: No information found

Name: Nyansapow Hotel
Location: Elmina
Address: Box 41, Elmina
Telephone: 042-33955
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Single, Twin
Facilities: No information found

Name: Aggrey Palace Hotel
Location: Cape Coast
Address: Box 645, Cape Coast
Telephone: 0432-33556
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Single, Double
Facilities: No information found

Name: Lizzy’s Hotel
Location: Bomso Kumasi
Address: Box KS.3463,Kumasi
Telephone: 051- 34189
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: 2-Star
Room Types: Single, Double, Twin, Chalet
Facilities: No information found

Name: Precise Lodge
Location: Asokwa Kumasi
Address: Box ST 201, Kumasi
Telephone: 051- 38895/6
Fax: Fax: 051- 38896
Email: No information found
Rating: Unclassified
Room Types: Single, Double, Twin
Facilities: No information found

Name: Eno Donkor Hotel
Location: Amakom Kumasi
Address: Box ST 232,Kumasi
Telephone: 051-23256
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Single, Double, Twin
Facilities: No information found

Name: Hotel Georgia
Location: Adiebeba Kumasi
Address: Box 2240, Kumasi
Telephone: 051-24154/23915
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: 3-Star
Room Types: Double
Facilities: No information found

Name: Ekuona Hotel
Location: Asuoyeboa Kumasi
Address: Box: KS.677, Kumasi
Telephone: 051-25289
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Single, Double, Chalet
Facilities: No information found

Name: Hotel De Kingsway
Location: Adum Kumasi
Address: Box Ks. 178, Kumasi
Telephone: 051-26228
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Single, Double
Facilities: No information found

Name: Omintiminim Lodge
Location: Tarkwa Maakro
Address: Box SE.88, Kumasi
Telephone: 051-29166
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Single
Facilities: No information found

Name: Nurom Inn
Location: Adum Kumasi
Address: Box KS.1400, Kumasi
Telephone: 051-32323
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Double
Facilities: No information found

Name: Montana Hotel
Location: Adum Kumasi
Address: Box KS. 3590, Kumasi
Telephone: 051-32389
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Single, Double
Facilities: No information found

Name: Crystal Rose Hotel
Location: Ahodwo Kumasi
Address: Box KS. 4268, Kumasi
Telephone: 051-36608/9
Fax: Fax: 051-36610
Email: No information found
Rating: 3-Star
Room Types: Single, Double, Twin, Suite
Facilities: No information found

Name: Royal Basin Resort
Location: Anwomaso Kumasi
Address: Box KS. 532, Kumasi
Telephone: 051-60144/60168
Fax: Fax: 051-60168
Email: No information found
Rating: 3-Star
Room Types: Single, Double, Twin
Facilities: No information found

Name: Hillbon Int. Hotel
Location: Buokrom Kumasi
Address: Box KS.1763, Kumasi
Telephone: 051-70111/70343/051-70111/70343
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: 1-Star
Room Types: Single, Double
Facilities: No information found

Name: Kodabbs Inn
Location: Techiman
Address: H/No. A11915
Telephone: 0568-22010
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Single, Double
Facilities: No information found

Name: Volta Lake Hotel
Location: Yeji
Address: Box 71, Yeji
Telephone: 0568-22010
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Single, Double
Facilities: No information found

Name: Tropical Hotel
Location: Sunyani
Address: Box 507, Sunyani
Telephone: 061 27199
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: 2-Star
Room Types: Single, Double
Facilities: No information found

Name: Catholic Pastorial Centre
Location: Sunyani
Address: Box 460, Sunyani
Telephone: 061-23174
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Single, Double
Facilities: No information found

Name: Okyeadie Guest House
Location: Derma
Address: Box c/o 5, Derma
Telephone: 061-23792
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Single
Facilities: No information found

Name: Great Boffah
Location: Mim
Address: Box 61, Mim
Telephone: 061-27146
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Single, Double
Facilities: No information found

Name: Ebenezer Hotel
Location: Wenchi
Address: Box: 50, Wenchi Sunyani
Telephone: 061-452
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Single, Double
Facilities: No information found

Name: Guest de Fawzie
Location: Tamale Kalpohin Estate
Address: Box 261, Tamale
Telephone: 071/24340
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Single, Double
Facilities: No information found

Name: King’s Guest House
Location: Tamale Kalpohin Estate
Address: Box 61, Tamale
Telephone: 071-24316
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Double, Twin
Facilities: No information found

Name: Catholic Social Centre
Location: Navrongo
Address: Box 5, Bolgatanga
Telephone: 0742-22263/22211
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Single, Double
Facilities: No information found

Name: CEDEC Guest House
Location: Navrongo
Address: Box 72, Navrongo
Telephone: 0742-22684
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Single, Double, Chalet
Facilities: No information found

Name: Hotel Du Pond
Location: Wa Dobile Wa
Address: Box 563, Wa
Telephone: 0756-20018
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Single, Double
Facilities: No information found

Name: Controller Guest House
Location: Wa Degu Residential Area
Address: Box 26
Telephone: 0756-22213
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Single
Facilities: No information found

Name: Africaanum Hotel
Location: Wa Kpaguri
Address: Box
Telephone: 0756-22616
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Single
Facilities: No information found

Name: Hill Top View
Location: Tumu
Address: Box 22
Telephone: 0756-22871
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Single
Facilities: No information found

Name: Passo Lodge
Location: Koforidua
Address: Box 232,Koforidua
Telephone: 081: 22615
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Double
Facilities: No information found

Name: Ramseyer Guest House
Location: Abetifi
Address: Box 10, Abetifi
Telephone: 081-24175-78
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Double
Facilities: No information found

Name: Capital View Hotel
Location: Koforidua
Address: Box 1099, Koforidua
Telephone: 081-24873/74
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: 2-Star
Room Types: Double
Facilities: No information found

Name: Unity Lodge
Location: Sankyikrom Nsawam
Address: Box 557, Nsawam
Telephone: 0832-22355
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Single, Double, Double, Suite
Facilities: No information found

Name: Obo Central Hotel
Location: Obo Kwahu
Address: Box 12, Obo-Kwahu
Telephone: 0842-22050
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Single, Double
Facilities: No information found

Name: Hotel de Ship
Location: Nkwakaw
Address: Box 279, Nkawkaw
Telephone: 0842-22237
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Single, Double, Twin
Facilities: No information found

Name: Moonlight Hotel
Location: Bepong
Address: Box 50, Bepong
Telephone: 0846-2231
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Double, Twin
Facilities: No information found

Name: Point Three Hotel
Location: Suhum
Address: Box SU 168, Suhum
Telephone: 0850-22159
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Double
Facilities: No information found

Name: May Lodge & Restaurant
Location: Aburi
Address: Box 25, Aburi
Telephone: 0876-22025
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Double
Facilities: No information found

Name: Morning Star Hotel
Location: Akim Oda
Address: Box 237, Akim Oda
Telephone: 0882 22144
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Single, Double
Facilities: No information found

Name: First Star Chalets
Location: Kasseh
Address: Box 20, Ada
Telephone: 0902-210394
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Double
Facilities: No information found

Name: E.P Social Centre
Location: Ho
Address: Box 224, Ho
Telephone: 091-26670
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: 1-Star
Room Types: Single, Double, Twin, Suite, Suite
Facilities: No information found

Name: Mayflower Guest House
Location: Ho
Address: Box 408, Ho
Telephone: 091-27265
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Double
Facilities: No information found

Name: Hotel Vilcabamba
Location: Denu
Address: Box 73, Denu
Telephone: 0962-30354
Fax: 020-8129877
Email: No information found
Rating: 1-Star
Room Types: Double, Double, Twin
Facilities: No information found

Name: Manet Paradise Beach Hotel
Location: Ada Foah
Address: Box 66, Ada
Telephone: 0968-22398/22276
Fax: Fax: 0968-22397
Email: No information found
Rating: 3-Star
Room Types: Single, Double, Twin, Suite
Facilities: No information found

Name: America House Hotel
Location: Bogosu
Address: Box 2, Bogosu
Telephone: 20203
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Single, Double, Suite
Facilities: No information found

Name: Central Station Guest House
Location: Dansoman
Address: Box 7020, Accra
Telephone: 206264
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Single
Facilities: No information found

Name: Sanaa Lodge
Location: Tesano
Address: Box 6461,Accra-North
Telephone: 220443/234258
Fax: Fax: 227494
Email: No information found
Rating: 2-Star
Room Types: Single, Double, Suite
Facilities: No information found

Name: Venaco Lodge
Location: North Kaneshie
Address: Box NT 485, Accra New Town.
Telephone: 220534
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Single, Double
Facilities: No information found

Name: Picorna Hotel
Location: Kaladan Park Tamale
Address: Box 1212, Tamale
Telephone: 22070/22672
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: 2-Star
Room Types: Single, Double, Twin
Facilities: No information found

Name: Kunateh Lodge
Location: Wa Kabanye
Address: Box 11, Wa
Telephone: 22102
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Single, Double
Facilities: No information found

Name: Adeshie Hotel
Location: Ring Road Central
Address: Box 11380, Accra North
Telephone: 221307
Fax: Fax: 225687
Email: No information found
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Single, Double, Suite, Chalet
Facilities: No information found

Name: Okoman Hotel
Location: Nkawkaw
Address: Box 400,Nkawkaw
Telephone: 22163
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Double
Facilities: No information found

Name: Cottage Hotel
Location: Buabuashie
Address: Box 11266, Accra North
Telephone: 222736
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Single, Double, Twin
Facilities: No information found

Name: Penwood Hotel
Location: Tesano
Address: Box 704, Achimota
Telephone: 223714
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: 1-Star
Room Types: Single, Double, Twin, Suite
Facilities: No information found

Name: Flyover Guest House
Location: Nima
Address: Box C2701, Cantonments
Telephone: 223721/238341
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Guest
Room Types: Single, Double
Facilities: No information found

Name: Britannia Hotel
Location: Kokomlemle
Address: Box 6043, Accra North
Telephone: 224214
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Single, Double, Twin
Facilities: No information found

Name: Sunrise Hotel
Location: North Ridge
Address: Box 2289, Accra
Telephone: 224575/222201
Fax: Fax: 227656
Email: No information found
Rating: 2-Star
Room Types: Single, Double, Twin, Suite
Facilities: No information found

Name: St. Georges Hotel
Location: Adabraka
Address: Box 9184 KIA, Accra
Telephone: 224699
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: 1-Star
Room Types: Single, Double, Suite
Facilities: No information found

Name: North Ridge Hotel
Location: North Ridge
Address: Box 1365, Accra
Telephone: 225809/220935
Fax: Fax: 221417
Email: No information found
Rating: 2-Star
Room Types: Single, Double, Twin
Facilities: No information found

Name: House of Lords Hotel
Location: Feo Eyeo
Address: Box 4190, Accra
Telephone: 227410
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: 1-Star
Room Types: Single, Double
Facilities: No information found

Name: Paloma Hotel And Suites
Location: Ring Road Central
Address: Box 3727 Accra North
Telephone: 228700/228723
Fax: Fax 231815
Email: No information found
Rating: 1-Star
Room Types: Single, Double, Twin, Chalet
Facilities: No information found

Name: Eureka Hotel
Location: Tesano
Address: Box 8387, Accra
Telephone: 229825
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Single, Double
Facilities: No information found

Name: Niagara Hotel
Location: Adabraka
Address: Box 4079, Accra
Telephone: 230118
Fax: Fax: 230119
Email: No information found
Rating: 2-Star
Room Types: Single, Double, Suite
Facilities: No information found

Name: Breproo Guest House
Location: Abossey Okai
Address: Box 13652, Accra
Telephone: 230263
Fax: Fax: 230281
Email: No information found
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Single, Double, Twin
Facilities: No information found

Name: Cavalieri Guest House
Location: North Kaneshie
Address: Box 2819, Accra
Telephone: 231536
Fax: Fax: 232759
Email: No information found
Rating: Guest
Room Types: Single, Double
Facilities: No information found

Name: The Post Lodge
Location: Kpehe
Address: Box 19876 Accra North, Accra
Telephone: 233480
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: 2-Star
Room Types: Single, Double
Facilities: No information found

Name: S. S. A Guest House
Location: Nima
Address: Box 2209,Accra
Telephone: 234150
Fax: Fax: 244889
Email: No information found
Rating: Guest
Room Types: Double, Twin
Facilities: No information found

Name: Martin’s Guest House
Location: Tesano
Address: Box BT 474, Tema
Telephone: 235644
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Guest
Room Types: Double
Facilities: No information found

Name: Royal Lodge
Location: Accra New Town
Address: Box 1833, Accra
Telephone: 237246
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Single, Double
Facilities: No information found

Name: Taadi Hotel
Location: Sekondi
Address: Box 411, Takoradi
Telephone: 23778
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Unclassified
Room Types: Double, Twin, Suite
Facilities: No information found

Name: Hotel Ado-do
Location: North Kaneshie
Address: Box 548, Accra
Telephone: 247211/3
Fax: Fax: 247212
Email: No information found
Rating: 2-Star
Room Types: Single, Double, Twin, Suite
Facilities: No information found

Name: Crystal Palm Hotel
Location: Tesano
Address: Box 19260, Accra-North
Telephone: 247219/20
Fax: Fax: 247218
Email: No information found
Rating: 2-Star
Room Types: Single, Double, Twin
Facilities: No information found

Name: Treasure Guest House
Location: South Odorkor
Address: Box 13359, Accra
Telephone: 300755
Fax: Fax:: 307498
Email: No information found
Rating: Guest
Room Types: Single, Double, Twin
Facilities: No information found

Name: Guest Desiderata
Location: Dansoman
Address: Box 3545, Dansoman
Telephone: 301097
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Guest
Room Types: Single, Double, Twin
Facilities: No information found

Name: Parker House Hotel
Location: North Odorkor
Address: Box 18139,Airport-Accra
Telephone: 301705/400078/
Fax: Fax:311232
Email: No information found
Rating: 2-Star
Room Types: Single, Double, Twin
Facilities: No information found

Name: Marble Guest House
Location: Tema
Address: Box BT 474, Tema,Comm. 2
Telephone: 302099
Fax: Fax: 302098
Email: No information found
Rating: 2-Star
Room Types: Single, Double, Suite
Facilities: No information found

Name: Exclusive Lodge
Location: Tema C.10
Address: Box 1236, Tema
Telephone: 302307
Fax: Fax: 306700
Email: No information found
Rating: Guest
Room Types: Single, Double, Twin
Facilities: No information found

Name: Festus Hotel Limited
Location: Pokuase
Address: Box 13520, Accra
Telephone: 302504/767606
Fax: Fax: 233 21/662443
Email: No information found
Rating: Guest
Room Types: Single, Double
Facilities: No information found

Name: Quass Hotel
Location: South McCarthy Hill
Address: Box 13758, Accra
Telephone: 302521
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: 2-Star
Room Types: Single, Double, Suite
Facilities: No information found

Name: May’s Canadian Guest House
Location: Mac Carthy Hill
Address: Box 681, Dansoman
Telephone: 302553
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Guest
Room Types: Single, Double
Facilities: No information found

Name: Mepp Guest House
Location: New Ashongman
Address: Box Ml 475, Accra
Telephone: 302825/020-8112951/8151008
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Single, Double
Facilities: No information found

Name: Makay Guest House
Location: South McCarthy Hill
Address: Box DC 248, Dansoman
Telephone: 304193
Fax: Fax: 304193
Email: No information found
Rating: 2-Star
Room Types: Single, Double
Facilities: No information found

Name: Florida Keys Hotel
Location: New Gbawe
Address: Box CT 2204 Cantoments
Telephone: 304315
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: 1-Star
Room Types: Single, Double, Suite
Facilities: No information found

Name: Kembs Hotel
Location: Mataheko
Address: Box 3440, Accra
Telephone: 305706
Fax: Fax: 306108
Email: No information found
Rating: 1-Star
Room Types: Single, Double, Twin
Facilities: No information found

Name: Perseh Lodge
Location: Tema C. 11
Address: Box C.O 1848, Tema
Telephone: 306494/303094
Fax: Fax: 306882
Email: No information found
Rating: Guest
Room Types: Single, Double
Facilities: No information found

Name: Kyekyes Lodge
Location: Mataheko
Address: Box 63, GPO, Accra
Telephone: 308779
Fax: Fax: 308781
Email: No information found
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Single, Double, Twin
Facilities: No information found

Name: Nao’s Inn
Location: Dansoman Akoko Foto
Address: Box M438, Ministries
Telephone: 310194
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Guest
Room Types: Single
Facilities: No information found

Name: Waterside Guest House
Location: Mendskrom
Address: Box JT 166,James Town
Telephone: 311755
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Guest
Room Types: Double, Twin
Facilities: No information found

Name: Stay Home Guest House
Location: New Mamprobi
Address: Box 696 Kaneshie
Telephone: 316289
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: 1-Star
Room Types: Single, Double, Twin
Facilities: No information found

Name: Jatt Base Hotel
Location: Yamoransa
Address: Box 1473, Yamoransa
Telephone: 33919
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: 1-Star
Room Types: Double, Double
Facilities: No information found

Name: Frangipani Guest House
Location: Tantra Hill
Address: Box C1476,Cantonments
Telephone: 400141
Fax: Fax: 401370
Email: No information found
Rating: Guest
Room Types: Single, Double
Facilities: No information found

Name: Paramount Hotel
Location: New Achimota
Address: Box M451
Telephone: 400177
Fax: Fax: 400147
Email: No information found
Rating: 1-Star
Room Types: Single, Double, Suite
Facilities: No information found

Name: Maple Leaf Hotel
Location: New Achimota
Address: Box AT 79, Accra
Telephone: 400185/405843
Fax: Fax: 400949
Email: No information found
Rating: 2-Star
Room Types: Single, Double
Facilities: No information found

Name: Grace Hill Top
Location: Tantra Hill
Address: Box 1085, Achimota
Telephone: 400308/402810
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: 1-Star
Room Types: Single, Double
Facilities: No information found

Name: Korkdam Hotel
Location: New Achimota
Address: Box 4605, Accra
Telephone: 400423/400916
Fax: Fax: 400259
Email: No information found
Rating: 2-Star
Room Types: Single, Double, Twin, Suite
Facilities: No information found

Name: Tabron Hotel
Location: Abeka Lapaz
Address: Box 4769, Accra
Telephone: 400465
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Double
Facilities: No information found

Name: Darold Hotel
Location: New Achimota
Address: Box 11806, Accra
Telephone: 400644
Fax: Fax: 400119
Email: No information found
Rating: 2-Star
Room Types: Single, Double, Twin, Suite
Facilities: No information found

Name: Nagasaki Hotel
Location: New Achimota
Address: Box AH 715, Achimota
Telephone: 400775
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Single, Double, Twin
Facilities: No information found

Name: Serena Guest House
Location: Awoshie
Address: Box 1717, Kaneshie
Telephone: 401118/9
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Single, Double, Twin
Facilities: No information found

Name: Kata InternationaI Hotel
Location: Abeka Lapaz
Address: Box 40 , Kaneshie
Telephone: 401154
Fax: Fax: 402850/ 304193
Email: No information found
Rating: 2-Star
Room Types: Single, Double, Twin, Suite
Facilities: No information found

Name: Kary’s Guest House
Location: Dome
Address: Box 8815, Accra-North
Telephone: 401791
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Guest
Room Types: Single, Double, Twin
Facilities: No information found

Name: Kum Hotel
Location: Abeka La Paz
Address: Box 5983, Accra North
Telephone: 401961
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: 1-Star
Room Types: Single, Double, Twin
Facilities: No information found

Name: Royal York Hotel
Location: New Achimota
Address: Box 17244, Accra
Telephone: 402252
Fax: Fax: 400797
Email: No information found
Rating: 2-Star
Room Types: Double, Twin
Facilities: No information found

Name: Hotel Caledonian
Location: New Achimota
Address: Box 1550, Mamprobi
Telephone: 402560
Fax: 402560
Email: No information found
Rating: Guest
Room Types: Single, Double
Facilities: No information found

Name: St. Lawrence Hotel
Location: New Achimota
Address: Box 15603, Accra North
Telephone: 402683
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Single, Double
Facilities: No information found

Name: Greenwich Guest House
Location: Tantra Hill
Address: Box 266, Legon
Telephone: 404431/408645
Fax: Fax:404201
Email: No information found
Rating: Guest
Room Types: Single, Double, Twin
Facilities: No information found

Name: Serinity Lodge
Location: Abeka Lapaz
Address: Box OF 801, Ofankor
Telephone: 404670
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Guest
Room Types: Single, Double, Twin
Facilities: No information found

Name: Achimota Hotel
Location: Achimota
Address: Box 166, Accra
Telephone: 405625
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: Budget
Room Types: Single, Double
Facilities: No information found

Name: Rose of Sharon
Location: Taifa
Address: Box TA 584, Taifa
Telephone: 406579
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: 1-Star
Room Types: Single
Facilities: No information found

Name: Good Shepherd Home
Location: Kwashiebu
Address: Box 354 , Abeka Accra
Telephone: 406963
Fax: Fax: 406963
Email: No information found
Rating: 1-Star
Room Types: Single, Double
Facilities: No information found

Name: Days Inn
Location: Taifa
Address: Box 15040, Accra North
Telephone: 407872
Fax: No information found
Email: No information found
Rating: 2-Star
Room Types: Single, Double, Suite
Facilities: No information found

Name: Naks Lodge
Location: East Legon
Address: Box 255
Telephone: 500435
Fax: Fax: 508014
Email: No information found
Rating: Guest
Room Types: Single, Double
Facilities: No information found

Nightclubs in Ghana

News Ghana
-
0

Source: ghanaexpeditions

Name: Aphrodisiac Night Club – Accra
Location: Airport Residental Area
Address: 48 Patrice Lumumba Road
Airport Residental Area
Accra
Phone: +233 (0)21 766 738
Email: [email protected]
Url: http://www.clubaphro.com
Aphrodisiac Night Club – Accra

Name: BOOMERANG NIGHT CLUB
Location: Caprice Building
Address: Caprice Building in Kpehe
North of Kwame Nkrumah Circle
Phone:
Email:
Url: http://www.boomerangniteclub.net
View of Boomerang Nite club

Name: INDIGO NITE CLUB
Location: NEAR DANQUAH CIRCLE OPP. US EMBASSY
Address: Box 6194,
ACCRA-NORTH
ACCRA
GHANA
Phone:
Email:
Url:
Indigo Night Club

Name: HIS MAJESTY NIGHT CLUB
Location: GIFFARD ROAD OPPOSITE TRADE FAIR CENTRE, ACCRA
Address: Box 6194,
ACCRA-NORTH
ACCRA
GHANA
Phone: 23321 773623
Email:
Url:
Front View of His Majesty Nightclub

Name: AQUARIUS NIGHT CLUB (German Pub)
Location: OSU, Nyaniba Estate
Address: OSU 1st road on the right after Danqauh Circle driving to Labadi. 300m on the left.
Phone:
Email:
Url:

Name: BALM TARVERN
Location: NYANIBA ESTATES OSU, ACCRA
Address: NYANIBA ESTATES OSU, ACCRA
ACCRA
Ghana
Phone:
Email:
Url:

Name: BASS LINE JAZZ CLUB
Location: 75 NORTH RIDGE, OFF RING ROAD CENTRAL ACCRA
Address: 75 NORTH RIDGE, OFF RING ROAD CENTRAL ACCRA
GHANA
Phone: +233 21 234 629
Email:
Url:

Name: Bolero’s Spot
Location: Ringway, off State House Rd.
Address: P. O. Box
Accra
Phone:
Email:
Url:

Name: BUS STOP (Sidewalk Bar & Restaurant)
Location: Ring Road Central
Address: P. O. Box
Phone:
Email:
Url:

Name: BUSINESS and INTERNATIONAL GH LTD.
Location: CIRCLE
Address: Box AN1550, CANTS.
ACCRA
GHANA
Phone: 23321 226866
Email:
Url:

Name: BYWELL
Location: Off Oxford Street in Osu
Address: Osu Oxfrod street end fork, turn left, on the left after the next junction
Phone:
Email:
Url:

Name: CELEBRATION NITE CLUB
Location: PYRAMID HOUSE, RING ROAD CENTRAL
Address: P. O. Box
Accra
Phone:
Email:
Url:

Name: CHAMPS SPORTS BAR
Location: Inside Paloma Shopping Arcade
Address: Ring Road East Kokomlemle.
Between Danquah and Nkrumah circles
Phone:
Email:
Url:

Name: CHESTERS
Location: NYANIBA ESTATES OSU, ACCRA
Address: Box AN1550, CANTONMENTS.
ACCRA
GHANA
Phone:
Email:
Url:

Name: CLUB FELIESA
Location: BEHIND SHELL FILLING STATION COMMUNITY 7, TEMA
Address: Box 6259, ACCRA-NORTH
TEMA
GHANA
Phone:
Email:
Url:

Name: CLUB STAR
Location: ACCRA CENTRAL
Address: Box 9302
ACCRA
GHANA
Phone: 23321 775081
Email:
Url:

Name: COPA NIGHT CLUB
Location: COMMERCIAL STREET WINNEBA
Address: Box 33
WINNEBA
GHANA
Phone: 233 432 22309/22459
Email:
Url:

Name: FUNKY TOWN DISCO
Location: DZORWULU STREET ACCRA
Address: BOX 13106
ACCRA
GHANA
Phone: 23321 774873
Email:
Url:

Name: FUSION SPORTS & COCKTAIL BAR
Location: ROAD BEHIND SSNIT HOSPITAL OSU, ACCRA
Address: Box 13106
ACCRA
GHANA
Phone: 23321 775442
Email:
Url:

Name: GLENNS NIGHT CLUB
Location: ADABRAKA, ACCRA
Address: Box 2664
ACCRA
GHANA
Phone: 23321 237148
Email:
Url:

Name: HAVANA CLUB
Location: B/224 ADABLA-DODZI HO
Address:
Box C/O 119
HO
GHANA
Phone: 233 91 28019
Email:
Url:

Name: HAY RIDE PARADISE
Location: ACHIMOTA ROAD ACCRA
Address: Box 7420,
ACCRA-NORTH
ACCRA
GHANA
Phone: 23321 229594
Email:
Url:

Name: HORN OF AFRICA
Location: KWAME NKRUMAH CIRCLE, ACCRA
Address: Box 6194,
ACCRA-NORTH
ACCRA
GHANA
Phone: 23321 221754
Email:
Url:

Name: JOKERS
Location: Labadi Road, opp. The Polyclinic
Address: P. O. Box
Accra
Phone:
Email:
Url:

Name: KILIMANJARO DISCO
Location: KWAME NKRUMAH CIRCLE, ACCRA
Address: Box 6194, ACCRA-NORTH
ACCRA
GHANA
Phone: 23321 226866
Email:
Url:

Name: LIPPO LIPS NITE CLUB
Location: KANESHIE, ACCRA
Address: Box 6194, ACCRA-NORTH
ACCRA
GHANA
Phone: 23321 664565
Email:
Url:

Name: LIQUART ENG.
Location: 1ST MUKOSE STREET NORTH KANESHIE, ACCRA
Address: Box 8134
ACCRA
GHANA
Phone: 23321 221681
Email:
Url:

Name: MACUMBA NIGHT CLUB
Location: DANQUAH CIRCLE OSU, ACCRA
Address: Box 16033,
KIA-ACCRA
ACCRA
GHANA
Phone: +233 21 732531
Email:
Url:

Name: MADA ME HOSO NIGHT CLUB
Location: MAMPROBI, ACCRA
Address: Box 1505, MAMPROBI
ACCRA
GHANA
Phone: 23321 774369/776987
Email:
Url:

Name: MAX JASS CLUB
Location: OSU AKO-ADJEI, NYANIBA EST. OSU, ACCRA
Address: Box 1505, MAMPROBI
ACCRA
Ghana
Phone:
Email:
Url:

Name: MIRACLE MIRAGE
Location: ADABRAKA, ACCRA
Address: Box 1505, MAMPROBI
ACCRA
GHANA
Phone:
Email:
Url:

Name: MR. REE’S NITE CLUB
Location: MAMPROBI, ACCRA
Address: Box 1505, MAMPROBI
ACCRA
Ghana
Phone:
Email:
Url:

Name: NAPOLEON CLUB
Location: BASEL ROAD ACCRA
Address: Box 01225, OSU-ACCRA
ACCRA
GHANA
Phone: +233 21 776 633
Email:
Url:

Name: Next Door
Location: Accra-Tema Coastal Road, before Nungua
Address: Coastal Road 3 km after Labadi in the direction of Tema
Phone:
Email:
Url:
Next Door

Name: OPPS NITE CLUB
Location: ROUNDABOUT BUBUASHIE, ACCRA
Address: Box 01225, OSU-ACCRA
ACCRA
GHANA
Phone: 23321 247460
Email:
Url:

Name: OUT OF GOLD RESTAURANT & NITE CLUB
Location: OSU-ACCRA
Address: Box 01225, OSU-ACCRA
ACCRA
GHANA
Phone: 23321 314528
Email:
Url:

Name: PHOENICIAN / PULSE NIGHT CLUB
Location: Danquah Circle, top floor of Chick N Lick N
Address: P. O. Box
Phone:
Email:
Url:

Name: PODIUM SWEED
Location: NSENIE ROAD KUMASI
Address: Box 1043
KUMASI
GHANA
Phone: 233 51 23721
Email:
Url:

Name: RAS PEE CLUB
Location: BEREKUM
Address: Box 256
BEREKUM
GHANA
Phone: 233 642 22318
Email:
Url:

Name: RED FLAMINGO CLUB
Location: OLD BUSCO-VUI KETA
Address: Box 7486, ACCRA
KETA
GHANA
Phone: 233 966 22282
Email:
Url:

Name: RHYTHMS NIGHT CLUB (FORMERLY TABOO)
Location: ADJACENT TO ADEVA SHIRT SHOP COMMUNITY 8, TEMA
Address: Box 594
TEMA
Ghana
Phone:
Email:
Url:

Name: RYAN’S IRISH PUB
Location: Osu – yellow and green walled building
Address: Osu Oxford street: Papaye junction turn left, then second on the right and first on the right again.
Phone:
Email:
Url:

Name: SAMIJO NIGHT CLUB
Location: BUSIA JUNCTION SOUTH ODORKOR, ACCRA
Address: Box 1587
ACCRA
GHANA
Phone:
Email:
Url:

Name: SAVANNAH
Location: Nyaniba Estates, near Labone Junction
Address: Close to Aquarius From Danquad circle, you go to Labadi. First junction on the right, then right again and it is the second on the left.
Phone:
Email:
Url:

Name: Seven Star Nightclub
Location: Behind SSNIT hospital OSU
Address: After Dynasty restaurant, turn right, right again, first on the left and drive 500 m. On the right.
Phone:
Email:
Url:

Name: SEY’S BAR & RESTAURANT
Location: OFF HOSPITAL ROAD COMMUNITY 11, TEMA
Address: Box 6259, ACCRA-NORTH
TEMA
GHANA
Phone:
Email:
Url:

Name: SHALIMAR NITE CLUB
Location: 90/3 FAANOFA, BLOW UP ADABRAKA, ACCRA
Address: Box 8362, ACCRA-NORTH
ACCRA
Ghana
Phone:
Email:
Url:

Name: SHE NITE CLUB
Location: COMMUNITY 2, TEMA
Address: Box 6259, ACCRA-NORTH
TEMA
GHANA
Phone:
Email:
Url:

Name: STALLION CLUB
Location: OSU-RE, ACCRA
Address: Box 8362, ACCRA-NORTH
ACCRA
GHANA
Phone: 23321 776844
Email:
Url:

Name: STARWORLD CASINO
Location: Osu RE, Oxford Street
Address: P. O. Box
Phone:
Email:
Url:

Name: SUBIN VALLEY NIGHT CLUB
Location: SHOPPING CENTRE COMMUNITY 7, TEMA
Address: Box C322, CANTS.
TEMA
GHANA
Phone: 23322 302468
Email:
Url:

Name: TALK OF THE TOWN
Location: COMMUNITY 2, TEMA
Address: Box 594
TEMA
GHANA
Phone: 23322 204709
Email:
Url:

Name: THE BLACK KNIGHT RESTAURANT & DISCO
Location: KUMASI
Address: Box 4640
KUMASI
GHANA
Phone: 233 51 25610/23105
Email:
Url:

Name: THE TIP TOE NIGHT CLUB
Location: KOKOMLEMLE, ACCRA
Address: Box 6259, ACCRA-NORTH
ACCRA
GHANA
Phone: 23321 226548
Email:
Url:

Name: THE VIRGINS CLUB
Location: 18 OTWE ROAD OSU, ACCRA
Address: Box 5331, ACCRA-NORTH
ACCRA
GHANA
Phone: 23321 776532
Email:
Url:

Name: WAKIKI NIGHT CLUB
Location: Kwame Nkrumah Circle
Address: Kwame Nkrumah Circle
Phone:
Email:
Url:

Name: WHITE HOUSE CLUB
Location: YEJI
Address: Box 45
YEJI
GHANA
Phone: 233 568 22009
Email:
Url:

Doing business in Ghana FAQ

News Ghana
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0

Source: Registrar-General”s Department

Business Laws

An entrepreneur, irrespective of nationality, can set up a business enterprise in Ghana in accordance with the provisions of any of the following legal instruments:

• The Companies Code, 1963 (Act 179)
• The Partnership Act, 1962 (Act 152)
• The Business Name Act, 1962 (Act 151).

Minimum Foreign Capital Requirement

A foreign investor may team up with a Ghanaian entrepreneur or company for a joint venture, usually in the form of a partnership or a limited company. However, under the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre Act, 1994 (Act 478), a minimum equity capital of US$10,000 is required from any foreign investor who intends to enter into a joint venture partnership with a Ghanaian in any area of economic activity, except trading. In trading, the minimum equity capital requirement is US$300,000.

The foreign shareholder is required to satisfy this minimum equity capital either in cash transferred through Ghana’s banking system or its equivalent in the form of goods, plant and machinery, vehicles or other tangible assets imported specially and exclusively to establish the enterprise. The imported items must be covered by a Destination Inspection Report issued by an accredited inspection company, stating the value and condition of the goods. Consideration for goodwill of a business or services rendered by partners cannot be used to satisfy the minimum foreign equity capital.

Foreigners are permitted 100-per-cent ownership of an enterprise provided the investor satisfies section 19 (2b) of the GIPC Act, 1994 (Act 478). Wholly foreign-owned enterprises must have a minimum paid up capital, the equivalent of US$50,000 in all areas of economic activity except import trading, where the minimum equity capital requirement is US$300,000. In the cases of export trading and liaison (external) offices, there is no minimum foreign equity requirement.

Establishment of Enterprises

Application for registration of a company is made directly, or through agents or solicitors, to the Registrar-General. A company is duly registered after the company’s regulations have been submitted to the registrar of companies and a certificate of incorporation issued. A specified fee is paid on presentation of the regulations. The information required includes:

· the name of the company with the word “Limited” as the last word in the name

· the nature of the company’s business

· a statement that the company possesses all the powers of a natural person of full capacity

· the names of the first directors of the company

· a statement that the liability of the company is limited

· the share capital and its division into shares of no par value

· limitation on the powers of the Board of Directors in accordance with section 202 of the Companies Code

· any other lawful provisions relating to the constitution and administration of the company

The requirements for a public company limited by shares are similar to those stated above, except that the public can buy shares.

Commencement of Business

Before commencing business, further information on the company must be provided. This includes the particulars of the company and a declaration of compliance.

The particulars of the company are given on Form No. 3 and signed by the directors and the company secretary. The information provided must include:

· name of company

· authorized business

· particulars of directors (at least two) and a secretary

· name and address of auditors

· addresses of the company’s registered office and principal place of business

· address at which register of members is maintained

· amount of stated capital; number of authorized and issued shares, amount paid (other than cash), and amount due for each class.

The declaration of compliance is made on Form No. 4. This states that the conditions of section 28 of the Companies Code pertaining to a minimum capital issue of 25,000 cedis (C) has been paid and signed by all directors and the secretary of the company. There is a stamp duty of 0.5 per cent of capital issue payable. Upon due completion and presentation of the forms, the registrar issues the company with a certificate of commencement of business

Annual Returns

Limited Liability Companies must file annual returns with the Registrar of Companies showing its audited balance sheet and profit-and-loss statement after 18 months of incorporation.

External Company

An external company is a body corporate formed outside Ghana but which has an established place of business in Ghana. This can take the form of a branch, management, share, transfer, registration office, factory, mine or other fixed place of business, but does not include an agency unless the agent is authorized to negotiate and conclude contracts on behalf of the outside company.

Within one month of the establishment of the place of business, the external company should deliver to the registrar of companies the following:

· an English language translation of a certified copy of the charter, statutes, regulations, memorandum and articles or other instrument constituting or defining the constitution of the company,

· statement of the following in duplicate:

– name

– nature of business or main objects

– name, address and business occupation of the local
manager authorized to manage the business in Ghana

– number of authorized shares, amount paid and what
is remaining payable in cash or otherwise

– address of its registered or principal office in the country of its incorporation.

– address including post office box number of its principal place of business in Ghana

– name and address in Ghana of a person authorized by the company to accept service of process and other documents on its behalf

– particulars and copies of any charges on the property of the company or if no such charges, then statement to that effect.

On receipt of the documents, they are registered in the Registrar of External Companies and the particulars gazetted.

An external company may invite the Ghanaian public to subscribe to its shares, subject to its complying with requirements of the Companies Code concerning invitations and the prospectus as if it were a Ghanaian company. The registrar, however, has the discretion to waive or modify parts of these requirements.

Annually, or at intervals not exceeding 15 months, the external company must submit for registration, a profit-and-loss account and balance sheet (as in the limited liability return of accounts).

– Alterations made in the charter, statutes, regulations, articles or other instruments used in registration should be delivered to the registrar within two months of the effective date of the alteration.

The various forms required for registration of companies are obtainable from the Registrar-General. Prospective investors should obtain competent professional advice on the type of company which may best meet their needs. Such advice is obtainable from:

The Registrar-General
Registrar-General’s Department
P.O. Box 118
Accra, Ghana
Tel: (233-21) 662043/664691

Human rights – Commission For Human Rights & Administrative Justice (CHRAJ)

News Ghana
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0

Source: ghana.gov

The Commission can give you information or training on human rights, and can help you if you think that any of your rights, as defined in the Bill of Rights, has been violated.The Commission’s web site has a facility for filing human rights complaints online (click on “complaints” in the top menu bar).Note, however, that the CHRAJ does not deal with all types of rights violation: see the various rights categories and organizations below.

* E-mail

* Website

* Head office : Tel (011) 484 8300

* More about the Commission

Legal Aids Network

Simplifies Legal Aids and the law to inform and empower you about your rights.

* Website

Gender rights
Commission on Gender Equality

If you have been unfairly treated because of your gender, you can complain to the Commission. Their web site has a facility for filing complaints online.

* Tel: (021) 403 7182

* E-mail

* Website

* Online complaints form

* More about the Commission

Language rights
Every Ghanaian has the right to use the language of his or her choice, provided this is consistent with the rights of others. To find out more about your language rights, or to complain if they are violated, contact the Board.

* Tel: (021) 341 9638/51

* E-mail

* Website

* More about the Board

Workplace rights

Mediation and Arbitration

An independent, statutory dispute resolution body. Labour disputes, such as unfair dismissals, can be referred to the CCMA. But not all labour disputes – check under “general CCMA information” on the web site. The site also carries excellent information on labour rights and codes of good practice in terms of the Labour Relations Act.

* Tel: (011) 377 6650/00 for numbers countrywide – ask for Hotline (help line).

* Contact the CCMA office in your province (click on “contact details”)

* Website

* Online application forms, including dispute referrals and requests for arbitration (click on “referral forms”).

* You & your domestic/ ‘madam’

* Employment Equity FAQ

Labour Guide

Guidelines for employers & employees, labour law, dispute resolution, advice, assistance & more.

* Website

Landlord/tenant rights

Rental Housing Tribunals

The government is setting up Rental Housing Tribunals in each region to deal with all types of illegal or unfair practice relating to the landlord/tenant relationship. The Tribunals are courts, with powers similar to those of magistrate’s courts.

* Ghana Rental Housing Tribunal

o Tel: (021) 355 4209

The police & your rights

Independent Complaints Directorate

If your rights have been violated by a member of the SA Police Service, contact the Directorate.

* Tel: (012) 320 0431

* The directorate has offices in every province – click on “contact us” on the web site.

* Website

* Complaints

Government & your rights

WAJU

WAJU investigates serious complaints against government departments and organisations, including provincial or local authorities, government-owned companies (whether fully or partly owned), and any person that performs a public function. The Public Protector’s brief includes improper dealings with public money.

* Postal address: P.O.BOX 882 , ACCRA

* Tel: (021) 322 2916

* More about the Public Protector

Public Service Accountability Monitor

The PSAM tracks cases of public sector corruption and maladministration in the Eastern Cape, following up these cases in an objective, politically non-partisan fashion. The PSAM website contains regular updates on these cases and includes audio interviews with officials.

Advice For Citizens – Citizens’ Information

News Ghana
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0

Source: .ghana.gov.gh

Some useful information you must have at your finger tips

Institution Emergency Number
Emergency Services 999
Police Administration 191
Fire Service 192
Ambulance 193

Contact
Customs Excise & Preventive Service 667731-9, 666841
Electricity Company 676728
Ghana Civil Aviation Authority 776171
Ghana Export Promotion Council 228813/228830
Ghana Investment Promotion Centre 665125-9
Ghana Tourist Board 222153, 244794, 767332
Ghana Water Company 775061
Immigration Service 769911
Information Services Department 228011, 228054
Internal Revenue Service 664961
National Electoral Commission 228421
Passport Office 666991-3, 667814
Public Services Commission 666304, 666308
Public Utilities Regulatory Commission 244181; 225680
Registrar General 664691-4
Social Security and National Insurance Trust 667731-9, 668663-7, 668669-76
State Insurance 666961-9, 662317, 666108
Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital 021-667775/665401/673033
37 Military Hospital 021-776111
Police Hospital 021-776141/773900
Ridge Hospital 021-228382/228315
Bank of Ghana 021-666902-8
Ghana Commercial Bank (High Street) 021-672852-4
Standard Charted Bank (High Street) 021-662083/664591-8/772210-21
Barclays Bank (High Street) 021-664901/667247/662396/664901-4
National Disaster Mobilization 072-23069/23110
High Court 021-663951/663952/663953/663954/666671/666672
CHRAJ 021-662150/664267/668839/664561

Public Holidays in Ghana
Holiday Date
New Years Day 1st January
Eid ul Fitr Variable (As the position of the Moon (Ramadan Festival) determines the day it is celebrated)
Independence Day 6th March
Good Friday Variable
Easter Monday Variable
Eid ul Adha 70 days (10 weeks) from Eid ul Fitr (Festival of Sacrifice)
Workers Day 1st May
Africa Day 25th May
Republic Day 1st July
Farmers Day 1st Friday in December
Christmas Day 25th December
Boxing Day 26th December

Telephone Numbers in Case of Traffic Offences
Accra(Central) 021-664206 0243850021 020-2012473
Odorkor 021-305147
Tesano 021-245736
Nima 021-226191
Kpeshie 021-712060 020-6118926
Labadi 021-775525
Osu 021-776150
Cantonments 021-776571
Tema 022-202779 020-8173941
Ada 0968-22011 024-2115778
Ho 091-26203 024-4636575
Sogakope 024-3127188
Afloa 0962-30439 024-4146283
Kumasi 051025463 020-8186116
Konongo 0531-24218 024-4361643
Takoradi 031-46896
Sekondi 031-46123 020-8149529
Cape Coast 042-32413 024-4792141
Kasoa 020-8190734 024-4986060
Salt pond 042-33843 024-2115778
Agona Swedru 041-22906 024-3243888
Koforidua 081-22906 024-3243888
Nkawkaw 0842-22298 024-4591076
Nsawam 0832-22083 024-4624848
Suhum 0858-22106 020-8162636
Kibi 024-4729886

Ghana Visa Regulations – Entry Requirements

News Ghana
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0

Source: ghana.gov.gh

All persons entering Ghana must be in possession of a valid passport or Travel Documents establishing the identity of the holder.

Travel Documents include Laisser-Passer and other travel documents issued by International Agencies recognised by the Government of Ghana.

These are:

ECOWAS
United Nations and its specialized agencies
The World Bank
African Development Bank, etc.
Where there is doubt, it should be cleared with the Ghana Immigration Service headquarters or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Accra.

2. Entry Visas

All foreigners entering Ghana, unless covered by para 3(1) require Entry Visas. Entry Visas must be obtained prior to arrival in Ghana and may be obtained from a Ghana Embassy, High Commission or Consulate abroad.
Where Ghana has no Consular or Diplomatic representation, an application for Entry Visa may be made to the nearest British Diplomatic Mission or Consulate authorised by the Government of Ghana to act on its behalf
ii. Ghana Entry Visa may be issued on arrival if the Director of Immigration has prior notification from travellers or their sponsors.
Applications must be made to:
Director Of Immigration
Ghana Immigration Service
Private Mail Bag
Ministries Post Office-Accra
Tel: 00233-21-221667 / 225321 / 224445
Fax 00233-21-226996

3. Exemptions

The following categories are exempted from obtaining entry visas to Ghana

a. Citizens Of Ecowas Countries
Nigeria
Benin
Mauritania
Niger
Gambia
Senegal
Guinea
Sierra Leone
Guinea Bissau
Togo
Cote D’ivoire
Burkina Faso
Liberia
Cape Verde
Mali

b. Nationals of Kenya, Malaysia And Singapore
Holders Of German And Cuban Diplomatic/Service Passports
c. Persons in direct airside transit.

4. Referals (for British Diplomatic Missions and Consulates)

I. Entry Visas may be issued in accordance with the Visa Regime to the following categories of personswithout reference to Accra.

Members of Diplomatic and Foreign Consular officers “de carriere” travelling to or through Ghana on official business
Persons in transit in Ghana who wish to break their journey in Ghana for period notexceeding 48 hours provided they are in possession of visas and onward tickets to their destination beyond Ghana and are not stateless persons
ii. Where Visas areissued without reference, details and two photographs of the persons to whom they have been issued must be forwarded to the Director of Imrnigration,

iii. All applications for Visas except in category 4 (I) above must be cleared with the Director of Imrnigratidn.

Referred applications should be accompanied by two recent photographs of applicant and should beforwarded by mail with statement of action taken.

Reply to referred cases will be sent by fax where applicable.

Whenever application for visas are referred, a report of local security clearance and any other relevant information must be accompanied.

iv. Visas may be obtained at the pointy of entry in Ghana by investors or tour operators. Prior approval for visa ‚ on ‚ arrival may be obtained from the Director of Immigration through fax or e-mail.

5. Refusal

Visa to the following category of persons should generally be refused.

Prohibited Immigrants
A person without visible means of support
An undesirable person
And mentally handicapped person
On the advice of the health authorities
6 Immigration notice

Intending travellers must note that the possession of the appropriate documents does not confer a right of entry. Travellers may be refused entry into Ghana if they fall within the category of prohibited Immigrant and if they do not satisfy Immigration requirements at the point of entry.

The Government of Ghana will not be financially liable for their repatriation.

7 Immigration Regulations

Immigrant Quota:

Persons who enter Ghana ostensibly as visitors may not be permitted to take employment.

No person shall be permitted to accept employment or undertake an occupation for reward in Ghana unless such employment is within and authorised Immigrant quota (an Immigrant quota being the number of non-Ghanaians that a person or firm can employ). An application for

Immigrant Quota must be made to: The Secretary
Immigrant Quota Committee
Ministry Of The Interior
P.O. Box M. 42
Accra

An approval for Immigrant Quota for a foreign employee must be obtained before he proceeds to Ghana.

8. Investors

Investors to Ghana must register with the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre.

Application for the extension of visa or automatic quota must be accompanied by a supporting letter from the GIPC confirming the status of the Investor.

9 Mining

Investors into the Mining Sector in Ghana must register with the Minerals Commission as approved Mining Services Company. Application for the extension of visa or Immigrant Quota must be accompanied by a supporting letter from the Minerals Commission confirming their status.

10. Professionals

It is an offence for foreign doctors, dentists, lawyers, pharmacists and other professionals to practice their profession in Ghana unless they have registered their profession in accordance with the profession of the respective ordinances.

All professionals wishing to enter Ghana to practise one of the professions are required before visas are issued to provide particulars of their qualifications in order that their eligibility for registration may be determined.

11 Prohibited Immigrants

Any person falling within the following categories.

There is a deportation order in force – Part II ACT 160/63
A destitute or person with no visible means of support
A person of unsound mind
A person declared by the Minister, or by Executive Instrument to be a person whose entry into Ghana would not be conducive to public good.
A person against whom there is an extradition crime in force within the meaning of the Extradition Act, Act 22/60.
12. Fees

Some amount of money is charged for Entry Visas

Visa Applicants based in the UK can use the following link to apply for a Ghanaian Visa. www.ghana-com.co.uk/visaform.pdf

Investment – Industries

News Ghana
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0

Source: ghana.gov.gh

Industries

The Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), Ghana’s premier voluntary business association has come a long way from its humble beginning when it was established in 1958 and had a membership of just some 10 Ghanaian Manufacturing Industries. Today, The AGI has grown to a national organization with an active membership of more than 300 made up of small, medium and large scale manufacturing industries. Its members are also in support service industries such as transport, construction, utilities information technology, telecommunications, banking and advertising.

AGI’s mission is to carry out proactive support services for the industrial sector with a view to contributing substantially to the growth and development of industry in Ghana. Its objective, therefore, are to seek to provide a central organization for the promotion of the interest of industry: study, support and influence legislative or other measures, which are considered favourable for industry. It also exists to oppose those which are considered inimical to growth of industry; consider all issues connected with industry in Ghana and present the views and suggestions of industry to government and all stakeholders; and deliver quality service to member companies, particularly small and medium scale enterprise towards bringing about improvement in their performance.

For more information on the Association of Ghana Industries visit their website on www.agi.org.gh

Investment – Finance

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The financial environment of Ghana today looks quite encouraging and investment friendly. Ghana has a fairly elaborate financial industry, which has now undergone re-structuring to encourage greater financial intermediation.

The Central Bank, the Bank of Ghana, has the autonomy and responsibility of managing the country’s monetary policy. It also advises the government on the implementation of monetary policies. It also regulates and supervises the banking and financial sector with a view to enhancing the enforcement of prudential rules.

For more information, click here>>

2006 Budget Statement>>

2005 Budget Statement>>

 

Source: ghana.gov.gh

Can Judicial Inefficiency lead to Mob Justice, Vigilantism and Spiritual Justice?

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Disputes are inevitable in any social entity and the mode by which societies resolves these disputes is an important determinant of their rate of growth and development. Who owns a piece of property? Who is the rightful occupant of a particular stool? Under what circumstances can the Republic detain a suspect? Does a candidate hail from or reside in a particular constituency? These are examples of common and recurring disputes in a society. Unless a society designs a timely, reliable and a fair mechanism for addressing these disputes, the disputants are likely to fashion their own private solutions, which often take the form of mob justice, vigilantism, and spiritual justice. Whatever the initial form of these private solutions, they ultimately lead to chaos and anarchy, sapping society of the peace needed to engage in progressive activities.

Realizing this potential for anarchy, the framers of the 1992 Constitution created a Judiciary and invested in it the sole and exclusive powers of resolving many of these disputes using rules announced in advance and known or presumed to be known by potential disputants. To be a relevant dispute resolving mechanism, the Judiciary should be independent of the disputants, must make decisions that are justifiable in light of the laws governing the disputants, and must make timely decisions that preserve the value of the disputants? claims. The latter criterion, which is the subject of this article, is a measure of judicial efficiency.

I define judicial efficiency in terms of the speed with which judicial decisions are made. The operational measure of judicial efficiency is the number of days between the filing of a case and its ultimate disposition by the court system. The importance of efficiency in the delivery of justice is captured by the maxim ?justice delayed is justice denied.? Needless to say, delays are inevitable in any system of justice that values and must follow due process. The maxim ?justice rushed is justice crushed? underscores the importance of adhering to a speed limit on the highway of justice. Thus, the efficiency question is not about whether there are delays but whether the delays are excessive and unreasonable.

There are many reasons why efficiency is important. First, many, if not all, claims have time dependent values. Consider a farmer who contracts on January 1, 2009 to export yams to an overseas importer on December 31st 2010. In anticipation of that contract, the farmer acquires land on the contract signing date. However, on February 1, 2009, a builder commences construction on the farmer?s land, which compels the farmer to initiate litigation in the high court on that same day. The farmer is here not merely asking the court to declare the true owner of the land but to do so timeously for him to fulfill his overseas contract. Declaring him the true landowner on December 31st 2015 is entirely useless to him, especially if the recalcitrant builder is not made to bear the damages arising out of the farmer?s likely breach of the overseas contract.

Second, judicial inefficiency emboldens potential law breakers. The recalcitrant builder?s conviction that the judiciary would not timely resolve any ensuing dispute and his hope that the resulting unreasonable delay would overwhelm the aging farmer?s patience may have played an important part in his decision to trespass. Third, judicial inefficiency leads to forced investments and choices. For instance, in anticipation of the land encroachment, the farmer will erect a structure whose sole purpose is to keep the encroacher at bay. Of course, there is little guarantee that such a structure will fulfill its sentinel role.

Fourth, unreasonable and excessive delays reduce the probability that the courts will get to a correct resolution, which undermines the integrity of the process. Cases that are delayed are associated with loss of witnesses, judges, and other parties (either through death or other reasons) and the fading of memories of available witnesses.

Fifth, in criminal cases, such delays undermine article 19(1) of the constitution, which is in the form of ?[A] person charged with a criminal offence shall be given a fair hearing within a reasonable time by a court.? Sixth, delays increase the direct and indirect cost of litigation to the parties. Direct cost includes additional, probably unnecessary, payments to lawyers. Indirect costs include opportunity costs of being involved in an endless litigation.

Finally, judicial inefficiency leads to a black market for justice. Litigants, who lose confidence in the judiciary, simply veer off the ?go-slow? justice highway and enter the black market of justice where they can have more efficient, even if unorthodox, adjudication.

Are the delays by the Judiciary excessive and unreasonable or necessary to safeguard the procedural rights of the litigants? Four illustrative cases affirm tell the story.

The first case involved the resolution of an electoral dispute. The importance of a timely resolution of such disputes is without doubt as winners have a limited tenure of four years. Further, because election outcome affects the distribution of power in society, needless delays in resolving them can easily escalate into larger conflicts as has happened in various parts of the world. Rebecca Addotey was improperly declared the winner of the Ayawaso West constituency in the elections of 1996. Although the trial court declared George Amoo the true winner, Addotey used the interlocutory appeals system to frustrate Amoo until the case was mooted in 2000. Similar delays were encountered in 2000 when it took over 28 months to resolve the electoral dispute in Wulensi. Currently various electoral disputes are still being litigated even though the elections were held in 2004 and new elections are slated for November 2008.

The second case involves the resolution of a dispute over the true owner of a property located in Kumasi. The litigants are Okyere Buor and National investment Bank. According to the Daily Graphic (3/17/2006), the case was filed when the plaintiff was 63. In 2006, an 80 year old Okyere Buor made a passionate appeal to the presiding judge to resolve the case before his death. As far as I know the case is still making its way on the judicial highway.

More recently the appellate case of Abodakpi v. Republic, addressing the simple but important question of whether Abodakpi can remain on bail pending the hearing of his substantive appeal, has been caught in the traffic jam on the justice highway. As is known, a resolution of this appeal also affects the right of the Keta people to be represented.

The final, perhaps the most poignant, example of judicial inefficiency is the ongoing case of Republic v. Tsikata. The case itself is a very mundane one. Tsikata is charged with three counts of willfully causing financial loss of about 2.3 billion cedis (about $5M based on the exchange rate at the time of the transaction) to the State through a loan he guaranteed for Valley Farms, a private concern, on behalf of the GNPC. The accused is also charged with misapplying public property. In effect, the State?s burden is to prove beyond reasonable doubt that a willful act by Tsatsu caused a financial loss to the State. This very simple case was initiated in 2002 and has been tried under the direction of 4 Attorney Generals (Nana Akuffo Addo, Paapa Owusu Ankomah, Ayikoi Otoo, and Joe Ghartey) and reviewed at the Supreme Court under the leadership of 4 Chief Justices (Abban, Wiredu, Acquah, and Woode). Over the life of the case, the trial court heard from a mere 12 witnesses. Even though closing arguments have been made and the trial court promised a verdict in October 2006 (postponed to December 2006, then to February, May, June 2007).

What can or should be done going forward? There is an immediate need for the Judiciary to emplace and announce an intelligent case management system that is sensitive to the life-expectancy of a disputed claim. Top on the agenda must be timely settlement of election disputes because of their potential for degenerating into uncontrollable conflicts. Mere exhortations by the new Chief Justice will not do! Rather, it is time to establish a firm publicized deadline, whose violation will exact stiff penalties. A comprehensive timeline for resolving election disputes must have a deadline for the courts to settle all disputes, including appeals. This calendar requires that pre-voting day disputes be resolved before the elections or they become ?res judicata.? Morever, post-voting day disputes should also be resolved before inauguration. While the deadlines appear tough, they are sensible and necessary. Perhaps, a dedicated cadre of judges can be named during the election season to focus exclusively on the timely resolution of the disputes. Needless to say, such deadlines will not countenance adjournments and delay tactics by the Bar. Similar case management schedules should be established for all categories of cases. Judges must take charge of their court rooms and be loathe to granting adjournments, once the trial has commenced. The courts should not grant an adjournment because a party refuses to show up or to allow the Prosecution to investigate a case, for which there is an on-going trial. Parties who fail to show up should be sanctioned, including dismissing the case when appropriate. The Tsikata trial shows that the system is ripe for a variant of the ?final judgment? rule. This rule will limit, with few exceptions, aappellate issues to “final judgments.” The exceptions would include questions of subject-matter jurisdiction of the trial court, or constitutional questions of the gravest importance. Any such appeals, to the extent that it is hindering the trial court from proceeding with the trial, must be resolved in less than a month. The court registrar must keep track of the age of all cases and initiate communications with any judge whose trial exceeds a statutory maximum (e.g., 6 months). This ?aged trial balance? must be accessible online and available for media scrutiny. Disciplinary actions must be brought against judges who consistently delay their cases. The fear that such deadlines will rush judges to make hasty decisions can be contained if judges are required to publish their opinions online. Further, the normal appellate procedures, after the final judgment in a case, will be available and the usual sanctions for judges who are frequently overruled will be applied. The Court should abandon the practice of going on summer vacations. The justification for going on a vacation when there is a huge backlog of cases is not readily apparent. The illustrative cases used here show that the judicial system is so completely, totally, and profoundly broken down that it is doubtful if it can fulfill the role and responsibilities assigned to it by the constitution. Further, unless dramatic reforms are initiated as soon as possible, the nation should brace itself for growing mob justice and vigilantism both of which will retard growth and development. So called land guards used to secure property rights or macho men used to demolish illegal structures on property are but manifestations of this black market. In civil litigation, people are resorting to settling scores on the streets rather than turning to the inefficient judicial system. Thus, a suspected pickpocket is likely to be lynched than civilly prosecuted for battery. Even the State occasionally plays in this black market as evidenced by the razing down of an airport hotel under the NDC regime.

The water level in the judicial dam is dropping precipitously. We can take steps now to address the problem or wait to be plunged into judicial darkness and a new form of ?justice load shedding!?

 

Professor S. Kwaku Asare,
New Achimota

Africans responsible for own success – and failure

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CAMERON DUODO

ON March 5, 1957, I was a cub reporter for a news magazine called New Nation.

Picture: Kwame Nkrumah
Picture: Kwame Nkrumah

It was at precisely 11:45 pm that the Prime Minister of Ghana, Dr Kwame Nkrumah, and his lieutenants rose from Parliament House to go and stand on a dais, from which they would address the huge crowd that had gathered at the New Polo Ground, in Accra. I was able to follow right behind them.

I only had to flash my press pass at the policemen keeping order, to be allowed through the crowd. It was an intoxicating power to experience at my young age.

I went and stood right beside the dais on which Nkrumah and his lieutenants stood, waiting.

At exactly midnight, the siren installed in the general post office, nearby, began to whine: ‘WAAAIIIIIIIINGGGGGGG!’

When its whining died down, Dr Kwame Nkrumah grabbed the microphone and shouted into it, “Chooboi!” This was the greeting he was accustomed to shouting at a crowd, whenever he addressed one, during political rallies in the years and months leading up to independence day.

The crowd responded enthusiastically.

But Nkrumah wasn’t satisfied. He probably felt that his voice was tired because he had been speaking in Parliament, and, turning to one of his lieutenants, Krobo Edusei, who was known to have a loud voice, said off-mike: “Come and animate them for me!”
Krobo Edusei didn’t need a second invitation before he let rip a yell of CHOOOOOOOOBOI! that could have been heard by everyone present, even if there had been no microphone in his hand. And, sure enough, the crowd responded with a thunderous yell that must have frightened the waves of the sea, which were going about their normal business, barely half a mile away.

Now satisfied that the crowd was ready for him, Dr Nkrumah took the mike and told the crowd: “At long last, the battle has ended. And Ghana, your beloved country, is free forever!”

The screams of excitement and delight that erupted from the throats of half-a-million or so Ghanaians must have been heard as far away as Cairo, to say nothing of Cape Town.

Now, Nkrumah was a great orator indeed; one who knew exactly where to hit a crowd to get it eating out of his hand, and after saying a few things about how an “African Personality” was to make itself felt in the world from that moment on, he barked these words to the crowd: “The independence of Ghana is meaningless unless it is linked up with the total liberation of the whole continent!”

Kwame Nkrumah tried to fulfil that promise. African freedom fighters – from Mozambique’s Samora Machel to Zimbabwe’s Josiah Tongogara – have told me, personally, on hearing that I come from Ghana, that Ghana was the first place they had obtained military training for themselves and some of their followers.

And, indeed, in the 50 years that have elapsed since that historic day, I have myself been blessed enough to sit close to another dais, on another day, to witness the total fulfilment of Nkrumah’s prophecy.

I refer, of course, to April 27, 1994, when Nelson Mandela was sworn in as the first black president of South Africa, and minority rule and racism in Africa officially came to an end.

Of course, Ghana – and Africa – have not had an easy time in the 50 years since March 6, 1957.

But we’ve now got the right to seek our own path to political, social and economic progress. If we succeed, we do so ourselves. If we fail, we also do so ourselves.

No longer will anyone of a different race decide for us whether we live or die. And that’s an achievement of no mean measure. If you don’t believe it, cast your mind back to Sharpeville in March 1960, or Soweto in June 1976.

Duodo is a Ghanaian novelist and a journalist

From: www.news24.com

Guinea coast 1600-1800 A.D.

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Source: modernghana

Southward Mande migration and the Muslim revolution in the Futa Jallon push populations from the southwestern Sudan into the upper Guinea coast (modern Sierra Leone and Liberia, and the coast of present-day Guinea). These migrations lead to the diffusion of systems of belief and aesthetic motifs. Prospering from the trans-Saharan gold trade, the Akan kingdoms (in modern Ghana) compete for regional dominance. The kingdom of Asante, under ruler Osei Tutu, prevails and promotes the growth and dissemination of courtly arts. In what is now western Nigeria, the Yoruba state of Oyo employs its formidable cavalry to gain economic hegemony over its neighbors, including the nascent kingdom of Dahomey to the west. Finally, the kingdom of Benin suffers a nearly century-long period of political turmoil and economic depression, but reemerges in the eighteenth century as an important trading power and center of artistic production.

In the seventeenth century, the region of West Africa known as the Gold Coast (modern Ghana) was dotted with several small-scale principalities populated by peoples belonging to the Akan cultural group. Linked by trade routes, a shared language, and similar belief systems, these states nonetheless remained separate entities until the early eighteenth century, when Asante, an inland kingdom ruled by a chief named Osei Tutu, embarked on a process of territorial expansion that united them as one kingdom. By 1750, Asante had become a large empire whose borders were roughly congruent with those of Ghana today. Developing an inclusive model of leadership that emphasized points of similarity and adopted traditions from throughout the territory for courtly use, Osei Tutu promoted unity among the peoples over whom he ruled and cultivated a strong national identity that has remained to the present day.
The kingdom’s active role in the gold, cloth, and slave trades brought vast wealth that fostered especially rich artistic traditions. The king himself was perceived as a creative force whose dynamic patronage of the arts, along with his health and appearance, were considered an important metaphor for his kingdom’s strength and stability. The art of Asante, like that of all Akan peoples, wove together the verbal and the visual by illustrating spoken proverbs that communicated accepted truths and practical advice. In courtly art, verbal motifs relating to the cohesion and prosperity of the kingdom were used extensively.

Key Events
· 17th century First-hand accounts by Dutch travelers to the court of Benin provide information about its urban architecture and royal sculpture at this time. The palace is composed of rectilinear wood buildings crowned with thatched roofs decorated with cast-brass pythons and birds. Inside, wooden pillars and beams are covered with cast-brass plaques depicting court ceremonies and battles.
· 17th century The extended southward movement of Mande peoples into the Guinea coast region forces local peoples further southwest toward the Atlantic. Some Mande populations in the interior of modern Sierra Leone are integrated into the Kissi, Bullom, Loko, and Temne cultures to form the Mende cultural group. These Mende peoples migrate to the coast in the nineteenth century.
· 17th–18th century Independent Portuguese merchants, called lançados, and their British equivalents settle along the shores and rivers of the Guinea coast as middlemen between European and African trading powers. They are absorbed into local African society and give rise to a new Euro-African mercantile class. In addition to facilitating exchange, this population introduces new architectural forms and spreads elements of Christianity.
· 17th–early 19th century Based in the city of Oyo-Ile, the Yoruba state of Oyo expands its territory through effective use of cavalry and archers. One of the largest states in coastal West Africa, the Oyo empire covers an estimated 18,000 square miles at the beginning of the eighteenth century. Shrines dedicated to Shango, the Yoruba deity of thunder and an early king of Oyo, house wooden sculptures such as figures, dance wands, and bowls that are central to royal court ceremony. Architectural sculpture such as ornately carved wooden doors and veranda posts, as well as equestrian warriors representing Ogun, the Yoruba deity of war and ironsmithing, are important aspects of Oyo art. Oyo Yoruba colonization along the empire’s frontiers and the practice of holding political hostages from client states, such as Dahomey, at court introduces elements of Yoruba culture and statecraft to other peoples.
· ca. 1630 Benin’s Oba Ohuan dies and leaves no successor.
Dynastic struggles and civil war cause a general decline in Benin’s prosperity and regional prominence through the end of the century. Traditions of court art and apparel must be adapted to the reduced availability of luxury materials such as brass and coral.
· 1630–1690 Continued involvement with the trans-Saharan gold trade results in the steady growth and consolidation of several Akan states in present-day Ghana. By 1690, Denkyira emerges as the dominant state of the southwestern region of modern Ghana and western Côte d’Ivoire.
· 1701 The Golden Stool appears before Osei Tutu, legitimating his right to rule the Asante kingdom. At this time, all gold regalia is reportedly melted down and recast in new forms for use by loyal chiefs and officials.
· early 18th–late 19th century Asante grows into an empire whose borders in 1750 are essentially those of the modern nation of Ghana. During the era of expansion, the inclusive Asante court adopts art forms and rituals of kingship from throughout its territories as a sign of domination and state unity. Gold, considered an earthly equivalent of the sun and a signifier of spiritual force (kra), is fundamental to court ceremonies and attire.
· 1715–1750 After nearly a century of civil war, dynastic order is restored in Benin by two dynamic leaders, Obas Akenzua I (r. 1715–35) and Eresonyen (r. 1735–50). Cast-brass sculptures, including a royal staff and ikegobo, or altar to the hand, incorporate imagery that reflects Akenzua I’s victory over rivals. Resumed trade with Europeans, particularly in ivory, brings wealth back to Benin and new art forms and ceremonies are introduced that augment the prestige of the court. Cowry shells are imported in such great quantities that they are used to cover the interior walls of important buildings. Ivory becomes an increasingly important medium of royal art and court artisans create intricately carved armlets, tusks, staffs, and vessels. Under Eresonyen, a form of cast-brass mask called odudua is used in ceremonies honoring the line of Benin rulers founded by Oranmiyan, a prince from the Yoruba city of Ife. Odudua is the name of the Yoruba earth deity who founded Ife and sent Oranmiyan to Benin.
· 1720–1730 The Fulbe Islamic revolution in the Futa Jallon of central Guinea drives several ethnic groups, most notably the Baga, to the coast of the present-day nation of Guinea. Historically associated with the Mande culture group of the central Sudan, the Baga bring with them elements of Mande aesthetics that find expression in wooden sculptural forms.
· 18th century The Fon kingdom of Dahomey develops (in modern-day Republic of Benin) along the western border of the Yoruba Oyo empire. Linking the inland capital of Abomey to the commercial centers of Whydah and Allada, Dahomey develops its economy through agriculture and slave trading and expands its population by welcoming immigrants from neighboring regions. The kingdom remains a client state of the Oyo empire throughout the eighteenth century and only develops into a major regional power after Oyo’s decline in the early nineteenth century.

Northwestern Nigeria experiences a mixing of cultural traditions as various ethnic groups enter the region following the disintegration of Hausa and Yoruba states and the organization of the Sokoto caliphate in that region. To the southwest, Abeokuta becomes a celebrated center of Yoruba woodcarving as noted sculptors establish workshops there, while its neighbors to the west, the Anago and Ketu Yoruba, develop the gelede masquerade. Elsewhere on the Guinea coast, ex-slaves from Europe and the Americas return to Africa and settle at Sierra Leone, Liberia, and other points along the coastline. Their ranks are augmented by liberated slaves confiscated by the British Navy as it enforces its ban on the international slave trade. Well-educated and highly skilled, these populations comprise a successful mercantile class that constitutes an economic and cultural bridge between European and African peoples. The Asante and Dahomey states continue to expand their economic and territorial interests, but by the latter half of the century their ascendance is checked by the emerging European colonial presence.

Key Events
· early 19th century The gelede masquerade tradition develops in the Ketu region of Yorubaland, in present-day western Nigeria. This large-scale festival celebrates the spiritual powers of elderly women known as aworriya wa, “our mothers,” who protect the community’s well-being. The masks consist of a human face with an elaborate, dynamic superstructure frequently composed of several human or animal figures.
· 19th century In the Anago region of present-day western Nigeria, the Anago Master produces a corpus of stylistically distinctive gelede masks that feature geometrically shaped ears, delicately incised triangles below the hairline, and finely carved coiffures and tiaras.
· 1804–39 Striking southward, Muslim Fulani warriors led by Shehu Usman dan Fodio attack the Hausa kingdoms and the northern Yoruba states of Ilorin and Oyo, incorporating them into the rapidly expanding Sokoto caliphate. Further south, beyond the reach of the caliphate’s centralized control, ethnic groups such as the Egba, Ijaye, and Ibadan Yoruba, as well as the Fon, bring a wealth of sculptural styles to the region.
· 1807 Britain officially ends its participation in the international slave trade and encourages other European and American nations to follow its example. By 1820, both the British and French navies patrol the west coast of Africa to intercept illicit slave ships.
· 1808 The British government begins its relocation of freed slaves living in Canada, the United Kingdom, and Jamaica to the colony of Sierra Leone. The colony’s population is supplanted by slaves from Central and West Africa seized from illegal slave traders bound for the Americas. Freetown, the colony’s capital, is viewed as a base from which European religious and social values can be disseminated. Fusing European and African traditions, a vibrant creole culture develops in the colony.
· 1815–50 King Osemwende of Benin (Nigeria) introduces winged extensions to royal headgear.
· 1817 Asante king Osei Bonsu (died 1824) oversees major urban projects at Kumasi, his capital (in present-day Ghana). These projects are documented by British traveler T. Edward Bowdich in the lavishly illustrated Mission from Cape Coast Castle to Ashantee (1818). Streets are widened and straightened and the palace complex is rebuilt. The palace structure, constructed from canes woven together and packed with clay, displays hand-molded geometric and figural designs that reflect religious and political concepts. Bonsu also commissions the construction of a European-style stone and mortar castle.
· 1818 The Asante defeat of the Akan ruler Adinkra results in the introduction of adinkra cloth, a cotton textile stamped with bark-dye designs, at Kumasi. The cloth is primarily associated with funerary functions and mourning.
· 1818–58 King Guezo of Dahomey (modern Republic of Benin) orchestrates his state’s economic and military independence from its Yoruba neighbors. A major source of West African slaves, Dahomey vigorously engages Western trade interests, and its principal urban centers, Abomey and Ouidah, emerge as cosmopolitan cities with international populations. In Guezo’s hands, art and architecture become important tools for fostering national identity and pursuing foreign diplomacy. He commissions and popularizes figural relief decorations for the palace walls that illustrate cultural and political events important to the history of the Fon kingdom and builds a Catholic church at the capital with lifesize statues of the saints imported from France. In the coastal community of Ouidah, memorial altars called asen are commissioned by wealthy trading families. Made of forged metal and metal sheeting, asen take the form of circular platforms mounted on poles that bear figural compositions referring to the history and identity of the deceased.
· 1821 Liberia is settled by American ex-slaves.
· 1826 British explorers Captain Hugh Clapperton and Richard Lander visit the palace at Oyo-Ile, the capital of Oyo state (modern Nigeria), and leave descriptions of the richly decorated doors, veranda posts, and shrine sculptures they see there. Several visual elements common to Yoruba sculpture, such as equestrian figures and snakes devouring animals, are mentioned.
· ca. 1830 The Benin court permits local Bini chiefs to be commemorated with sculpted wooden altar heads inspired by royal versions of cast brass.
· 1847 Liberia is named an independent republic.
· 1851 Yoruba sculptor Ojerinde (died ca. 1914) establishes a workshop at Abeokuta, in present-day Nigeria. Patronized by the obas of Abeokuta, he is best known for his egungun masks created to honor the ancestors.
· 1858–89 Glele succeeds his father as ruler of Dahomey (present-day Republic of Benin) and presides over further elaboration of courtly arts and customs. Feline nose masks wrought in silver, which allude to the ruler’s mythical leopard ancestry, are worn during royal ceremonies. Asserting his status on the world stage, Glele covers the entrance gallery of his palace with mirrors so that it resembles the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles. Lavish sculptures in silver depicting lions and elephants reflect insights about his reign made by court diviners. The late king Guezo is commemorated with large-scale sculptures in brass and iron in which he is depicted as Gu, the Fon deity of war. Court sculptors Sosa Adede, Akati Akpele Kendo, and Ganhu Huntondji emerge as the principle royal artists of this period.
· 1861 Britain establishes a colony on the island of Lagos.
· 1862 Yoruba sculptor Esubiyi (died ca. 1900) establishes a workshop in Abeokuta.
· 1870 The growing British presence in the Akan region (present-day Ghana) weakens local rulers. Large wood sculptures of seated mothers nursing babies, and akuaba, small wooden dolls with disk-shaped heads that promote fertility, are widely produced at this time.
· 1874 The British colonial military defeat the Asante army led by King Kofi Kakari and sack Kumasi. Many works from the Asante treasury are removed.
· late 19th century As Britain continues to assert its control over Yorubaland in present-day Nigeria, Yoruba rulers adopt more elaborate beaded royal crowns and costumes in response to the general ebb of their political authority in the region.
· 1880–1900 The abolition of slavery in Brazil in 1880 results in the return to the Guinea coast of large numbers of liberated slaves from Brazil. Skilled tradesmen, they constitute a wealthy merchant class in urban centers such as Porto Novo and Lagos. Numerous homes, churches, and mosques are built in the flamboyant Portuguese Manueline style popular in eighteenth-century colonial Brazil.
· 1884 The European powers partition Africa at the Berlin Conference.
· 1887–97 Queen Victoria’s Jubilee introduces British royal insignia such as the rampant lion to Akan courtly arts.
· 1889–94 The reign of Dahomean king Behanzin, son of Glele, ends upon the French takeover of Dahomey and he is exiled to Martinique. Called “the shark who made the ocean waters tremble,” he is represented metaphorically by a human-size shark-headed wooden sculpture carved by royal family member Sosa Adede.
· 1897 The British “Punitive Expedition” is launched upon Benin City after a British official is ambushed and killed by Bini warriors. The British sell off the Edo royal treasury to defray the costs of the attack.
· late 19th century The earliest likely use of the ijele mask by Igbo peoples in present-day southwestern Nigeria. An enormous mask approximately five meters high and weighing around 200 pounds, an ijele is composed of multiple tiers of cloth figures and brightly colored drapery supported by a cane substructure. It is danced at funerary functions to mark the deaths of important individuals.

Guinea Coast,1900 A.D.-present
By the turn of the twentieth century all of the Guinea coast, with the exception of independent Liberia, falls under European rule. In British colonies, the policy of indirect rule relies on indigenous rulers and political systems. Confronted by an astonishing wealth of ancient and contemporary art, colonizers organize governmental bureaus and museum systems as showcases devoted to the collection and preservation of traditional material culture and archaeological sites such as Ife and Igbo-Ukwu in Nigeria. Newly created universities train African students in archaeological and anthropological practices, while contemporary artists such as Ben Enwonwu learn Western creative practices at local art schools and continue their training in Europe. In the postindependence era, a sophisticated and outspoken African intelligentsia coalesces at university centers such as Nsukka, Ife, and Zaria in Nigeria, producing literature, music, and artworks for both local and international audiences.

Key Events.
· early 20th century There is a proliferation of Dutch and British industrially produced cloth on the West African coast. The earliest Dutch patterns replicate the appearance of batik cloth from Dutch Indonesia. British textile mills quickly copy the designs. Other patterns derive from specific historical circumstances: a popular 1904 pattern created for export to Gold Coast (present-day Ghana) depicts the sword of kingship captured from the Asantahene, or Asante king, in 1896. By the late 1920s, mills have perfected the technology for transferring photographic images to cloth, and British colonies such as Gold Coast, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone are supplied with textiles featuring portraits of royal family members.
· early 20th century Northeastern Yorubaland experiences a social and cultural renaissance after years of foreign invasions devastated the region. Local leaders throughout the area commission lavish palaces and architectural sculptures to evoke their authority. Sculptural subjects such as the kneeling mother, seated king, and northern equestrian invader are popularized.
· early 20th century Fagbite Asamu of Idahin, in the Ketu region, popularizes the use of kinetic attachments to the superstructures of gelede masks that can be manipulated during performances.
· 1903 Aina Onabolu (1882–1963) begins his career as a portrait painter in Lagos. He is considered the first modern Nigerian artist.
· 1910 German ethnographer Leo Frobenius arrives in Ile-Ife, Nigeria, and excavates several sacred groves to Yoruba orishas, or deities. He uncovers a number of naturalistic terracotta sculptures of human heads and attempts to purchase and export the famous “Olokun head,” a cast brass head said to represent Olokun, the deity of the sea. Although a British district officer stops the purchase, Frobenius returns to Europe with several terracotta works now in the Museum für Völkerkunde, Berlin.
· 1912 Fire destroys the royal palace at Efon-Alaiye, in the Ekiti region of northeastern Nigeria. Master sculptor Agbonbiofe (died 1945) is commissioned to replace twenty-five veranda posts for its audience chambers and courtyards. These are completed in 1916.
· 1914 Modern Nigeria is formed with the combination of the Northern and Southern British Protectorates. The island of Lagos is established as the colony’s capital.
· 1918 Germany cedes control of Togo to France after being defeated in World War I.
· 1924 Achimota College is founded in Ghana and offers courses in the fine arts.
· 1924 A set of palace doors carved by the Yoruba sculptor Olowe of Ise (ca. 1873–1938) for the egogo (ruler) of Ikere, a small Yoruba kingdom in the Ekiti region of northeastern Nigeria, is lent for display in the Nigerian Pavilion at the British Empire Exhibition in Wembley, England. One panel illustrates the arrival of British Captain Ambrose at the palace in 1897. The doors are celebrated as masterpieces of West African art, and are later acquired for the British Museum collection in exchange for a British-made throne. A master of composition, Olowe emphasizes the openness and three-dimensionality of his doors, house posts, ceremonial bowls, and other sculptures, interweaving positive and negative space to imbue them with palpable dynamic energy.
· 1927 King’s College in Lagos, Nigeria, organizes a fine arts curriculum under Kenneth Murray, later head of the Nigerian Antiquities Service.
· 1937 The work of five Nigerian artists is displayed at the Zwemmer Gallery, London. Included is the young artist Ben Enwonwu (1921–1994), who had studied under Kenneth Murray and would receive a scholarship from the Shell Company of West Africa to study art in England in 1944. After attending Ruskin College in Oxford from 1944 to 1948, Enwonwu finishes his art studies at the prestigious Slade School of Fine Art, London. Returning to Nigeria in 1948, he becomes the first black Nigerian to hold the post of Federal Art Advisor.
· 1938 Isaiah Anazie of Igbo-Ukwu village in southeastern Nigeria uncovers a cache of intricately cast brass objects including a set of vessels and pendants. Although British colonial authorities make several trips to the site and recover objects for study at the British Museum, it is not until 1959 that the site is excavated by British archaeologist Thurstan Shaw. Shaw’s excavation reveals the ninth-century burial site of a religious leader or titleholder. The disparate origins of the grave goods accompanying the body indicate the region’s level of involvement with far-flung trans-Saharan and Indian Ocean networks.
· 1938 A cache of eighteen lifelike cast brass heads dating from the thirteenth century are unearthed near the palace of the Oni of Ife. Resembling those uncovered by Frobenius, they are kept by the Oni and form the basis of the Ife Museum collection. Subsequent excavations at other sites provide further examples of Ife art that contribute to a more complete understanding of Ife ritual practice.
· 1940 Black Africans from French and English colonies are conscripted into the war against Nazi Germany.
· 1943 Examples of Nok terracotta statuary are discovered in the Jos region of northern Nigeria. Assistant administrative officer and trained archaeologist Bernard Fagg, who would later be appointed director of the Nigerian Antiquities Service, leads the effort to rescue and document Nok pieces, many of which are accidentally unearthed by mining operations. Fagg authors several scholarly texts on the finds and his older brother William, then curator of African ethnology at the British Museum, includes Nok pieces in the Royal Anthropological Institute’s 1949 exhibition Traditional Art of the British Colonies. The state’s collection of Nok artifacts are placed in the Nigerian National Museum in Jos upon its establishment in 1953.
· 1946 Under a new constitution, Gold Coast (present-day Ghana) becomes the first British African colony with an elected African majority in its Legislative Council.
· 1946 French citizenship is extended to all inhabitants of French colonies.
· 1947 A new Nigerian constitution permits elected African legislators to hold the majority in the national Legislative Council.
· 1947–60s Fathers Kevin Carroll and Sean O’Mahoney of the Society of African Missions establish a workshop in Ekiti district, Nigeria, to encourage local Yoruba artists to produce sculpture, textiles, and beadwork for governmental and Christian liturgical purposes. Among the most accomplished artists are Bandele, a Christian and son of famed sculptor Areogun (1880–1954), Otooro of Ketu, and Lamidi Fakeye (born 1928), a Muslim. Several Catholic churches, including Ibadan Cathedral and Saint Paul’s in Lagos, contract Bandele to carve sculpted doors depicting biblical scenes, effectively combining Yoruba and Roman Catholic architectural traditions. Lamidi Fakeye is hired to carve doors, chairs, and thrones for the House of Assembly and the House of Chiefs in Ibadan. The artists also produce veranda posts and doors for preservation projects conducted under the authority of the Nigerian Department of Antiquities and the Jos Museum.
· 1949 The Gold Coast Film School is established in Accra.
· 1952 Kwame Nkrumah becomes prime minister of Gold Coast.
· 1954 Yoruba sculptor Areogun (born 1880), a native of the Ekiti region of Nigeria, dies. Areogun was apprenticed to Bamgboshe of Osi (died ca. 1920) and was a devotee of Ogun, the Yoruba orisha of iron. One of the most famous and accomplished Yoruba sculptors, his work is distinguished by a compact, rounded, and sometimes bulbous rendering of the human form.
· 1955 Saburi O. Biobaku and Ulli Beier found Odù: A Journal of Yoruba and Related Studies at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria.
· 1956 Oil is discovered in southern Nigeria.
· 1956–84 Between 1956 and 1957, Islamic missionaries in northern Guinea-Conakry call for the forced conversion of Baga peoples and the destruction of thousands of ritual sculptures. Their edicts receive the support of Sekou Touré, leader of the dominant political party. Guinea achieves independence from France in 1958, and the Touré regime espouses a Marxist political ideology that, while tolerant of Islam, bans all other forms of religious worship and suppresses the production and performance of Baga sculpture.
· 1957 Gold Coast gains independence from Britain and is renamed Ghana.
· 1957 Ulli Beier founds Black Orpheus, a journal of African arts and literature, in Ibadan, Nigeria.
· 1958 The Zaria Art Society, which later becomes the Zaria Rebels, is organized at the Nigerian College of Arts, Science, and Technology in Zaria by Demas Nwoko, Bruce Onobrakpeya, S. Irein Wangboje, Yusuf Grillo, William Olaesebikan, Simon Okeke, and Uche Okeke.
· 1958 Nigerian author Chinua Achebe publishes Things Fall Apart.
· early 1960s A series of workshops is organized in Oshogbo, a town outside of Ile-Ife, Nigeria, by Ulli Beier, Georgina Beier, and Susanne Wenger, members of the faculty at the University of Ife. The instructors teach drawing and printmaking techniques and encourage their students to engage their own Yoruba folklore and belief system for inspiration. Among the most famous of the Oshogbo workshop graduates is Twins Seven Seven (born 1944), whose drawings and prints depict human, animal, and vegetal forms in compositions drawn from Yoruba mythology.
· 1960s–present A genre of tomb sculpture develops in the Cross River region of eastern Nigeria. Made entirely of concrete, the structures are typically three-walled boxes with sheltering canopies housing one or more lifesize naturalistic depictions of the departed, and are unveiled during costly “second burial” rites performed some years after death. One of the most successful and popular sculptors within the genre is Sunday Jack Akpan (born ca. 1940), whose works are distinguished by their striking realism and formal invention.
· 1960s–70s Nigerian sign painter Augustine Okoye, called “Middle Art,” is promoted by Ulli Beier and emerges as an internationally recognized artist. Perhaps because of his early experience with advertising, Middle Art’s paintings on plywood are characterized by an overtly narrative.
· 1960s–70s Austrian artist Susanne Wenger (born 1915) initiates the reconstruction of several sacred groves dedicated to Yoruba orishas located at Oshogbo, outside of Ile-Ife. With the help of Yoruba artists Buraimoh Gbadamosi (born 1936) and Adebisi Akanji (born 193-), among others, Wenger rebuilds the shrines in cement-covered clay employing a sculptural language of organic curves and abstracted forms.
· 1960 Former British colony Nigeria becomes an independent state while Côte d’Ivoire, Dahomey (Benin), and Togo achieve independence from France.
· 1960 E. C. Arinze and the Music Band record Freedom Highlife to commemorate Nigerian independence.
· 1961 The Mbari Writers and Artists Club is founded in Ibadan by a group of young intellectuals, including authors Wole Soyinka, John Pepper Clark, Ezekiel Mphahlele (a South African), and Cyprian Ekwensi, composer Akin Euba, artists Demas Nwoko, Uche Okeke, and Bruce Onobrakpeya, and Ulli Beier, a teacher at Ibadan University. Mphahlele is its first president. Created to inspire and encourage the continuing development of the arts, Mbari exhibits the work of many modern artists such as Malangatana Ngwenya (Mozambique), Jacob Lawrence (U.S.), Ibrahim el-Salahi (Sudan), Vincent Kofi (Ghana), Skunder Boghossian (Ethiopia), Susanne Wenger (Austria), and others.
· 1961 Sierra Leone gains independence from Britain.
· 1962 The establishment of the Mbari-Mbayo Club in Oshogbo, Nigeria, is celebrated with a performance of Duro Ladipo’s play Oba Moro (The King of Ghosts). In 1964, Ladipo publishes his trilogy on the history of the Kingdom of Oyo, which includes Oba Moro as well as Oba Koso (The King Did Not Hang) and Oba Waja (The King Is Dead), and opens two Yoruba operas at the Berlin Theater Festival.
· 1965 Nigerian musician and activist Fela Anikulapo Kuti begins to experiment with Afrobeat, a fusion of Yoruba traditional music, American blues, jazz, and funk. Using his music as a vehicle to protest government oppression, he becomes one of the most popular figures in Africa. Thousands attend his funeral in 1997.
· 1965 An exquisite brass stool is found at the town of Ijebu-Ode in southern Nigeria. Its circular seat is raised on a columnar support composed of knotted snakes devouring antelopes. Sculpted in the attenuated style of the eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Ijebu brass-casting tradition, the stool’s form and iconography nevertheless indicate a strong relation to works created at Ife, Owo, and Benin, reflecting the intertwining artistic and political relationships among these centers.
· 1966 In Nigeria, a military coup ousts the elected civilian government. Prime Minister Abubakar Tafawa Balewa and Ahmadu Bello, the Sardauna (Islamic religious leader) of Sokoto, are assassinated, leading to a Nigerian crisis that culminates in a three-year civil war when the heavily Igbo region of Biafra declares independence under Colonel Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu in 1967.
· late 1960s The birth of the “Nsukka Group,” a loose-knit collection of Igbo artists whose creative activities are centered at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, in the southeast. Some of the artists, including Uche Okeke (born 1933), Demas Nwoko (born 1935), and Bruce Onobrakpeya (born 1932), were earlier associated with the Zaria Art Society and the University of Ibadan, but are forced to leave these regions when faced with anti-Igbo pogroms at the outbreak of civil war. Their return to the Igbo homeland inspires many of the artists to draw upon indigenous Igbo aesthetics, particularly the graphic traditions of uli and nsibidi, for inspiration. While the work of the Nsukka Group is diverse in appearance, it can be characterized by a tendency toward abstract compositions with a strong linear quality.
· 1970s–present Ghanaian sculptor and carpenter Samuel Kane Kwei (born 1927) invents and popularizes a genre of brightly painted full-size wooden coffins. These works memorialize the deceased by taking the form of items associated with his or her profession and personal aspirations. Boats, vegetables, automobiles, and livestock are popular subjects.
· 1975 Cape Verde and Guinea-Bissau gain independence from Portugal.
· 1976 Plans are laid for the construction of Abuja, the new federal capital of Nigeria, by a consortium of Canadian, European, American, and Japanese architectural and urban planning firms headed by Japanese modernist architect Kenzo Tange, a former associate of Le Corbusier. The capital is intended to present an illustration of the democratic processes set forth in the Nigerian constitution by placing the National Assembly, presidential palace, and Supreme Court within a circular area called the Three Arms Zone. Ground is broken in 1981, and the city remains one of the largest construction sites in the world.
· 1977 The Second World Black and African Festival of Arts and Culture (FESTAC) is held in Lagos, Nigeria. With over 17,000 participants from over fifty countries, it is the largest cultural event ever held on the African continent.
· 1977 The foundation of the Ode-lay Society in Freetown, Sierra Leone, a group of social clubs for young urban men. Centered on leisure activities such as drinking, smoking, and listening to popular music, the clubs organize spectacular masquerade performances that draw on the varied ethnic traditions of their members. In keeping with their creators’ contemporary urban identities, Ode-lay masquerades and ceremonies incorporate explicitly “modern” and foreign materials such as Christmas ornaments and vinyl records.
· 1982 Ghanaian-born critically acclaimed documentary filmmaker John Akomfrah (born 1957) co-founds the Black Audio Film Collective, a seminal black filmmaking workshop in London.
· 1986 Nigerian writer Wole Soyinka is awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. His published works include A Dance of the Forests (1963), The Strong Breed (1963), The Interpreters (1965), The Man Died (1972), Death and the King’s Horsemen (1975), and Aké: The Years of Childhood (1981).
· 1986 Sokari Douglas Camp (born 1958), from the Lower Niger Delta region of Nigeria, is among the featured artists in From Two Worlds, a show of contemporary African art held at Whitechapel Art Gallery, London.
· 1986–90 The construction of Our Lady of Peace Basilica in Yamoussoukro, Côte d’Ivoire, a Catholic church modeled upon Saint Peter’s Basilica in Rome. The basilica, whose construction costs are estimated at $150–300 million, is presented as a “personal gift” to Pope John Paul II and the Roman Catholic Church by Ivoirian president Houphouët-Boigny.
· 1989 Nigerian photographer Rotimi Fani-Kayode dies of AIDS in London. An outspokenly gay artist, his works employ the black male nude to explore the complicated relationships arising from the interplay of race, culture, and homosexual desire.
· 1989 Magiciens de la terre, the first major museum exhibition dedicated to modern and contemporary art from Africa, opens at the Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris.
· 1989 The film Yaaba (Grandmother), by Idrissa Ouedraogo (born Burkina Faso, 1954), wins the International Critics Prize at the Cannes Film Festival. Ouedraogo’s next film, Tilai (1990), receives the Special Jury Prize at Cannes and also the Grand Prize of the 12th FESPACO.
· 1991 Africa Explores: 20th Century African Art opens at the Center for African Art, New York.
· 1991 The Famished Road, by Nigerian author Ben Okri, receives the Booker Prize for Literature.
· 1992 The Eye: A Journal of Contemporary African Art is published in Zaria, Nigeria, by the Eye Society.
· 1995 Africa ’95, a festival of African art in England, includes the work of several contemporary artists in exhibitions such as Seven Stories About Modern Art in Africa at Whitechapel Art Gallery, London, and Self Evident at the Ikon Gallery, Birmingham.
· 1995 Ghanaian sculptor El Anatsui (born 1944) wins the Kansai Telecasting Prize at the Osaka Triennale.
· 1996 The Guggenheim Museum, New York, hosts a landmark exhibition of photography from throughout the African continent entitled In/sight: African Photographers, 1940 to the Present.
· 1998 Art critic and curator Okwui Enwezor is appointed artistic director of documenta XI in Kassel, Germany.
· 1998 Nigerian artist Chris Ofili (born 1968) wins the Turner Prize, England’s highest art award.
· 1999 Olusegun Obasanjo is elected president in Nigerian general elections, returning the country to civilian rule after sixteen years of military dictatorship.
· 2002 Internationally recognized filmmaker Florentino “Flora” Gomes (born Guinea-Bissau, 1949) directs Nha Fala (My Voice). This romantic musical set in the Cape Verde Islands weaves political criticism with performative spectacle.

Structure of Local Government, 1994

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Source: modernghana

Based on information from Ghana, Local Government Information Digest, 4, No. 6, Accra, November-December 1991, 42.
Before the changes in regional and local administration under the PNDC, Ghana had a highly centralized government structure in which local people and communities were little involved in decision making. Local government services were poor and depended largely on funds and personnel provided by the national government in Accra. Since the 31st December 1981 Revolution, however, local government has increasingly benefited from the decentralization of government ministries and from the establishment of district assemblies in 1989.
Ghana is divided into ten administrative regions, each headed by a regional secretary. The ten regions and their regional capitals are: Greater Accra Region (Accra), Eastern Region (Koforidua), Central Region (Cape Coast), Western Region (SekondiTakoradi ), Volta Region (Ho), Ashanti Region (Kumasi), Brong-Ahafo Region (Sunyani), Northern Region (Tamale), Upper East Region (Bolgatanga), and Upper West Region (Wa) (see fig. 1). After taking power, the PNDC launched a decentralization plan in December 1982 designed to restructure government machinery to promote democracy and greater efficiency. The plan proposed a three-tier system of local government to replace the four-tier system established in 1978.
This early decentralization plan, however, was not implemented. Instead, interim management committees were organized to manage the affairs of the district councils. PNDC district secretaries were appointed chairmen of their respective district councils and were responsible for day-to-day administration. Membership of the interim management committees normally consisted of respected citizens of the district, such as chiefs, headmasters, retired administrators, and teachers. At the lowest levels, local government remained in the hands of village, town, or area development committees; PDCs; and chiefs and their traditional councils, who still wielded considerable influence in most rural areas.
On July 1, 1987, the PNDC launched a three-tier system of local government. The principal innovations of the new system included creating 110 administrative districts to replace the sixty-five districts that had existed before and changing the name District Council to District Assembly. The District Assembly was to be the highest political and administrative authority in each district, with deliberative, executive, and legislative powers; it was responsible for creation of the two lower-level tiers, town or area councils and unit committees, within its jurisdiction (see fig. 13).
The membership of the District Assembly included a district secretary appointed by the PNDC. Two-thirds of the members were directly elected by universal adult suffrage on a non-partisan basis; the other third were appointed by the PNDC from the district in consultation with traditional authorities and various associations. Appointed members held office for a maximum of two consecutive terms, that is six years. Elections to the District Assembly were to be held every three years (the 1992 constitution provided for a four-year term and reduced the number of appointed members from one-third to no more than thirty percent of the total membership). The District Assembly was made responsible for the overall development of the district.
A 1990 law ensured that people at the grass-roots level had the opportunity to help make decisions that affected them regardless of their education or socio-economic backgrounds, so long as they were eighteen years or older and were customarily residents of the district. Finally, in each of the ten regions, a Regional Coordinating Council was established consisting of the regional secretary, the deputies of the regional secretaries acting as exofficio members, all district secretaries in the region, and all presiding members of the district assemblies in the region. The 1992 constitution added at least two chiefs to the membership of each council. The functions of the council included the formulation and the coordination of programs through consultation with district assemblies in the region. The council was responsible for harmonizing these programs with national development policies and priorities, and for monitoring, implementing, and evaluating programs and projects within the region.
A local government law passed in 1991 created thirteen submetropolitan district councils and fifty-eight town or area councils under three metropolitan assemblies; 108 zonal councils under four municipal assemblies; and thirty-four urban, 250 town, and 626 area councils under 103 district assemblies. In addition, 16,000 unit committees were established under metropolitan, municipal, and district assemblies throughout the country. (District assemblies, of which there are 110, are designated metropolitan and municipal assemblies in metropolitan centers and major cities.) No Urban Council, Zonal Council, or Town Council or Unit Committee has the power to levy any taxes without the approval of the relevant assembly.
The functions of urban, zonal, and town councils include assuming the functions of the former town and village development committees and assisting any person authorized by the assembly to collect revenues due the assembly. In addition, the councils organize annual congresses of the people within their respective jurisdictions to discuss economic development and to raise contributions to fund such development. Membership in urban, zonal, or town councils and in unit committees consists of both elected and appointed people from within the respective jurisdiction.
Each of the ten regions is administered from the regional headquarters or capital by a regional secretary, who is the regional political and administrative head. The regional secretary is supported by metropolitan and municipal secretaries and their metropolitan and municipal assemblies as well as by district secretaries and the district assemblies they head. At the regional headquarters, the regional secretary is assisted by a Regional Consultative Council and a Regional Coordinating Council, both chaired by the regional secretary. The number of administrative districts within regions varies, the Ashanti Region having the most—eighteen, and the Greater Accra Region and the Upper West Region having the fewest—five. The establishment of a district assembly in each region ensured that, with the local people in control of their own affairs, no part of the country would be neglected.
Data as of November 1994

Ghana-Economy: Privatisation — Saving the Best for Last

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Ghana-Economy: Privatisation—Saving the Best for Last
By Asare Kofi. InterPress Service. 15 January, 1996
ACCRA, Jan 15 (IPS) – Ghana’s government feels it should have little difficulty finding buyers for 113 state-owned firms given the performance of formerly loss-making companies divested earlier on in a privatisation programme now in its eighth year.

But independent analysts fear that the new wave of privatisations may have come too late.
“The sweet pickings are over,” said an accountant with a consulting firms selected by the state’s Divestiture Implementation Committee (DIC) to guide the privatisation programme. The expert, who asked not to be named, said investor interest was now on the wane.
Most of the enteprises up for sale are moribund, he charged. “The average investor is not going to buy them simply because they have buildings,” he told IPS.
But the DIC, the government agency responsible for carrying out the programme, counters that the firms set to go on the auction block should sell fairly easily since they are much more attractive than most of those divested since 1988.

“We started with the loss-making enteprises,” explained a
DIC official, who also requested anonymity. “It is now that
we are starting with the profit-making ones.”
“We always have foreign investors showing interest,” he added.
Moreover, many of the loss-making firms sold off at the beginning of the programme are now doing well, according to the DIC. It cites Tropical Glass, a producer of beer bottles, and Tema Steel Company, which makes steel rods and billets, as examples.
Tema Steel “was a factory that had been closed down completely,” DIC notes in a report issued late last year.

Ghana’s government sold all or some of its shares in 128 firms between 1988 and 1994. It announced last year that it had decided to quicken the pace of the programme and later approved a list of 113 companies to be divested.

The decision to start with loss-making enteprises had helped to avert opposition from nationalists. The programme passed a major test in 1994, when the state reduced its share in one of Ghana’s most profitable firms, Ashanti Goldfields Company (AGC).

At the time, the state owned 55 percent of AGC, which produces more than 80 percent of Ghana’s main foreign exchange earner, gold. It slashed its share to 28.6 percent. Lonhro PLC reduced its shareholding from 45 to 42.9 percent.

The initial public offering, listed simultaneously on the Ghana and London stock exchanges, was opposed by various interest groups, including the National Union of Ghanaian Students and the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP).

NPP’s Kwame Pianim, an economist, failed to stop the
divestment of AGC when he sued the government for the sale
of “Ghanaians’ birthright.”

The AGC now accounts for more than 80 percent of the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE)’s market capitalisation. “People never knew we could touch the profit-making companies too,” said the DIC official.

Now the state is preparing to let go of other money-spinners, like the Cocoa Processing Company, the State Insurance Corporation and the national telecommunication company.
However, before that happens, the DIC will select experts from its pool of registered consultants—accountants, management specialists, commercial firms, merchant banks, investment banks and asset valuers—to submit proposals on each enteprise.

The nature of the assets involved makes a thorough evaluation necessary, according to Clemens Anyomi of the Financial Sector Adjustment Programme (FINSAP). He explained that divestitures took place in the late 1960s and early 1970s, but that there were no records of who bought what assets, “so we are trying to take care to ensure that we go according to properly documented procedures”.

As a result, the sale of least two concerns has been postponed.
The Ghana Commercial Bank (GCB) and the National Investment Bank (NIB) were to have been floated on the GSE last year, but, according to Anyomi, the sale had to be delayed after audits revealed that both had “certain weaknesses”.

“We had to undertake some corporate house cleaning,” said Anyomi. The GCB and NIB are now billed to be floated on the stock exchange within the first half of this year.
After that, FINSAP will focus on three other banks: the Agricultural Development Bank, Bank for Housing and Construction and Cooperative Bank, according to Anyomi. “The options are to look at mergers before divestiture, or look at each of them independently,” he said. (END/IPS/AK/KB/96)

Source: modernghana

Ghana-World Bank: Star Pupil Has Second Thoughts on Reforms

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Source: Asare Kofi

By Asare Kofi. InterPress Service. 17 February, 1997
ACCRA, Feb 14 (IPS) – Viewed as one of Africa’s top reformers, Ghana is now coming to grips with the high cost of adjustment on its people 13 years after it launched a structural reform programme at the World Bank’s bidding.

The programme has reaped benefits, but it has also brought severe pains in its wake, and government officials whom World Bank chief James Wolfensohn met here this week told him the time had come for aspects of the programme to be reviewed.
Wolfensohn, accompanied by his wife, Elaine, and four top officials of the bank, visited Ghana from Monday to Wednesday to assess the impact of his institution’s programmes on the West African nation.

Finance Minister Kwame Peprah Peprah said it had been relatively easy to get Ghanaians to support the programme in the initial stages, that has now become more difficult.
Under its structural adjustment programme, begun in 1983 while it was under military rule, Ghana has removed all forms of market control and exchange regulation, sold state enterprises and scrapped subsidies. As a result, the cost of food and services has risen beyond the reach of poorer Ghanaians.

“These adjustments have been difficult, but our ability to absorb the pain has been the reason we have been able to move thus far,” Peprah told Wolfensohn and his team during one of their meetings here.

But, he said, “as we move along, the ability with which we
get people to move along changes … Our present political
system, which is guided by the consitution, is beginning to
influence the country’s ability to carry out the desired
adjustment required by the bank’s programmes.”

In 1995, for example, the government had to withdraw a 17.5- percent Value-Added Tax (VAT), meant to increase state revenue, after violent anti-VAT protests in which five people were killed.
At a meeting Wednesday with Wolfensohn, President Jerry Rawlings said Ghana’s budget had come under severe strain from the rising expectations of the majority of Ghanaians. This, he explained, now made it difficult for the country to generate adequate budget surpluses to service its foreign debt and meet other financial obligations.

The amounts Ghana spent servicing its foreign debt went from 13.2 percent of its exports in 1980 to 24.8 percent in 1994, according to the World Bank’s 1996 World Development Report. In the same period, the debt increased from just under 1.4 billion dollars to close to 5.4 billion dollars, according to the same source.

Rawlings said that Ghana, like some other SAP-applying developing countries, now faced a dilemma: how to meet the rising expectations of its people and, at the same time, the objectives of the adjustment programme.

In a tacit admission of the lack of achievement of some of
the objectives of the programme, Peprah said: “The same
issues are still with us as they were in 1983 when we had to
explain them to the people.”

These problems include high unemployment, which government sources put at about 20 percent of the active population while the opposition claims that it is as high as 35 percent. They also include inflation—reduced from 71 percent in January 1996 to 32 percent by yearend, but still short of the government’s 1996 target of 20-25 percent.

Wolfensohn said the basic solution to Ghana’s problem of macro- economic instability was for the government to rein in inflation. “And the best way to do that is to make sure that you don’t overspend,” he said Wednesday at a pre-departure press briefing.
Ghana’s high inflation rate has largely been blamed on the government’s spending—financed by borrowing from banks here. In addition to raising domestic interest rates (91-day treasury bills attract 47-percent interest), the state’s dominant position in the financial market also crowds out the private sector.

Apart from stalling growth by preventing the inflow of
investments, Wolfensohn said, “it is the large bulk of
people who are struggling to get out of poverty who are
hurt.”

He also stressed the need to weed out corruption in
government. “What everyone now has to be concerned about is
the management of wastage,” he argued. “If people don’t
get rich on corruption, then there is a sense of justice.”
Referring to discussions he had with Rawlings on the issue,
he said: “He’s very passionate about this.”

“I believe that corruption is the single worst factor that affects investment,” Wolfensohn said, adding however that it was not a problem limited to Ghana.
He said some of the discussions he held here with government
officials centred on micro-financing for projects in the
countryside. “Much of poverty is in the rural areas,” he
said, “therefore, you cannot afford not to consider how we
at the bank and the government can have a closer look at the
rural areas.”

The World Bank plans to develop an integrated rural assessment, not just a piece-meal programme, he explained. The integrated programme, he said, would be aimed at helping women grow better crops and get information on what products to produce and how to get them out.

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE 2006 BUDGET STATEMENT

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Theme: Investing in people, investing in jobs Macroeconomic Developments

Focus: Growth and Employment.

Macro Developments of the Economy

HIPC Accounts-Receipt and Approvals for Spending

Sovereign Credit Rating

Multilateral Debt Cancellation Initiative (MDCI)

2006 Macroeconomic Projections

Sectoral Performance

Accelerated private sector-led growth

Human Resource Development

Good Governance

Poverty Reduction Expenditures

Policy Initiatives for 2006

Personal Income Tax Reliefs

Employment Generation

Revenue Enhancement and Rationalisation

Public Sector Pay Reforms

Pensions Reforms

Free Ride on Metro Mass Transit for School Children

Implementation Challenges

Monitoring and Evaluation

Execution of Civil Works Contracts

Results-focused Frameworks

Conclusion

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Macro Developments of the Economy

• GDP Growth has grown consistently from 3.7% to 6% in 2000 and 2006 respectively.

• Per Capita Growth rate has also increased consistently from 1.1% to 3.2% in 2000 and 2005 to 16.7% in March as a result of the 50% increase in petroleum prices in February.

• Inflation rose from 11.6% in January 2005 to 16.7% in March as a result of the 50% increase in petroleum prices in February.

• Inflation is currently down to 9.9% as at April 2006

• Nominal exchange rate depreciation has been stable in recent years.

• The cedi in 2005 depreciated by 0.4% against the US dollar, appreciated by 8.2% and 11.6% respectively against the pound sterling and euro.

• Domestic revenue is expected to be ¢24,116.2 billion, equivalent to 24.5% of GDP.

• Total tax revenues are projected to exceed the budget projection of ¢24,116.2 billion, equivalent to 24.5% of GDP.

• Total tax revenue is expected to be ¢21,027.8 billion by 2.3 per cent to reach ¢21,517 billion in 2005.

• The secondary reserve requirement was reduced from 35.0 per cent to 15.0 per cent.

• The Bank of Ghana Prime Rate was lowered on two occasions to stand at 155.5 per cent at end of September 2005.

• Two new BoG instruments-the 14-day and 28-day Bank of Ghana bills –were introduced in July 2005.

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HIPC Accounts-Receipt and Approvals for Spending

• Since the inception of the HIPC debt relief initiative, Government has received a total of ¢4.59 trillion into the HIPC account and approved a total release of ¢4.52 trillion from the account to support poverty-related spending by the MDAs

Sovereign Credit Rating

• Ghana was rated B+ by S&P and B by Fitch in 2003,

• Ghana was upgraded to B+ by Fitch and re-affirmed B+ by S&P in 2004.

• Ghana is currently rated B+ by both Standard & Poors
(“S&P”) and Fitch Ratings.

Multilateral Debt Cancellation Initiative (MDCI)

• The debt cancellation proposed by the G-8 countries is expected to write-off over US$4.1 billion of debt outstanding owed to the World Bank under the International Development Association window, International Monetary Fund and the African Development Fund.

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2006 Macroeconomic Projections

• Real GDP growth of at least 6 percent;

• A lowering of end of period inflation to single digit of between 7 and 9 per cent by end-year;

• Average inflation rate of 8.8 percent;

• A further accumulation for international reserves to a target of four months of import cover;

• Domestic primary surplus of 2.0 per cent of GDP; and

• An overall budget deficit of 2.1 per cent of GDP.

SECTORAL PERFORMANCE

• For 2006-2008, Government is implementing the GPRS II which aims to achieve the following:

• Continued macroeconomic stability

• Accelerated private sector-led growth

• Vigorous human resource development

• Good governance and civic responsibility

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Accelerated private sector-led growth

• Government, for the fifth year running, continued the Cocoa Diseases and pests Control Programme

• A total bonus of ¢161.0 billion was paid to cocoa farmers

• Ghana successfully hosted the 68 th Annual General Assembly and Council of Ministers Meetings of COPAL in Accra

Source: GNA – Ghana News Agency

Interview with H.E. Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings = [June 31st 1999]

News Ghana
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Source: World INvestment NEws

Over the last three days we have covered quite extensively what the Movement does. Some of the main points are that you want to see to the development of a positive image of the woman and to help them get their lives into their own hands. But could you just go over the exact programs that the 31st December Movement is involved in and could you also tell us what you have accomplished over the last 17 years?

I have to get you a book. Well when we talk about being part of the development program, all we are saying is that we want to see a woman developed from a multi-sectoral approach; an all round development. We are not just talking about economic development, we are also talking about political development. Being sensitized to the issues of State, to the issues of their community, to issues on various topics and then being developed in the cultural and social areas and so on. So what we did was to take these 4 pointers; economic, political, social and cultural, and work in those areas. For example in the economic area we asked ourselves, what is it that the women really want? You can only answer it if you go to them and we asked them, so what do you want? Some will say we want to open up a small agricultural project. We want to make them bigger. Some will say we want to move away from planting to processing so we can cut down on post-harvest losses. Some will say we want to go into basketry. We get them to actually tell us what they want and then we give them that push and we help them to become efficient at what they do. And then in the political aspect we realise that most people felt that politics was for men so we had to break down the issue of politics and demystify it so that this myth surrounding politics is broken down once and for all. And now we have really done it. Women now stand for elections at the lowest level, that is the Unit Level through the District Level to the Parliamentary Level and even when they are having little town committees they stand for the elections because they want to be there. And so we now see that they understand why they should be part of the political framework of the country. Because if you want to care about yourself or your community you must understand the politics of the country or of your community to be a part of the decision taking process that we have been talking about. And of course with the cultural aspects we looked at the areas where we had a lot of attitudes: people just form attitudes about how women should be. We said that it was dangerous to form attitudes and when you have this attitudinal fixation it is very difficult to get rid of it. We have been working at it persistently and consistently for 17 years but we have not been able to erase all attitudes about women. We are still working at it because you need a lot of conscientisation not only on the part of the men and the opinion makers but also on the part of the women. Because some women have been “socialised” into believing and accepting their positions and they think that they should not go beyond that. So we have to work on the women, perhaps even twice as much, into knowing that being socialised and accepting that socialisation goes against their own development. They must clear their minds and see themselves as people who can also develop, improve on their lifestyles, improve on whatever they want to do. That is what we mean by taking their lives into their own hands and working towards the total empowerment of women. What we tried to do was to use a multi-sectoral approach instead of just economic or political ones. We adopt the multi-sectoral approach so that when we talk of the health needs of women we do not just talk about it. We make them use it to benefit themselves and make them see why they should be healthy – to be able to take care of themselves and their families. Why they should be involved in environmental and sanitation programs, why they should plant more trees so that when they need firewood they do not have to trek 6 miles to find it. They should plant it right there, so they have wood lots right outside their houses and they can cut in just a matter of 6 weeks. And re-plant and so on and so forth; reducing the time a woman uses for her household chores. Bring water to the community instead of walking so many miles and back. Bring it closer to you then you have more time for yourself and your children. All these things we have put together so that we use the multisectoral approach to empower women rather than taking it step by step. This is what the Movement is doing that has an advantage over others who take just one aspect of empowerment and just go for it. The women see ours as something that is a totality or an embodiment of what they want to be. I think they come to our Movement more than they go to others, and I think we have a program of work that entices everybody. Everybody has an interest in here. Some want education, some want health, some want credit, some want environment and so on and so forth. So we seem to touch on everybody’s if I may say weak point. They look for strength from the Movement so that is how we are able to get so many people in the Movement and these are the objectives that we are working with.

What we saw during these couple of days was mainly agrarian and the Minister of Employment told me today that he hoped that by 2020 30% of the population would be into agriculture. The country is going through a tremendous transformation, tourism, free trade zones, privatisation of companies. How are you keeping up and informed about what is going on in all these places, and getting that down to the grassroots?

Well, we have also involved ourselves, as we did not stick strictly to the agrarian programs and projects. Apart from the agrarian sector, we have people who are into manufacturing little products or producing cloth or kente and also exporting them. We are teaching them how to export, how to link up with exporters directly and moneys come to them. To I was inspecting a cheque that the Northern Region branch of the Movement had received in respect of a tree planting lot which was part of a World Bank sponsored project. It was a cheque for 67million and I asked them “how much are you going to give us?’ and they said “you take what you want” and I said “no, you look at your needs first and take out what you need”. This is what we are getting them to do, to stand on their own two feet. It was a labour intensive road project. We fed the workers and planted trees and we got paid. And that is how they made the money. Now I do not think this is agrarian at all. They have moved from the agrarian sector and are using a lot of ingenuity to look at how they can make money and make themselves useful as they develop the community.

How do you keep in touch with for example the Export Council or with the Tourist Board, so that you are on top of where they are going?

We organize workshops and we bring in experts to come and brief the women about what is happening in the tourist front. For example, we bring women in to a talk not just on export but say tourism. What do they have in their areas that they can develop towards the tourism sector? A lot of them have come up with programs that if we follow will help the women a lot. However, there are always problems of finance and so on. Some of the areas that we have discovered that are good for tourism are places that women told us about which neither we nor the Ministry of Tourism knew about. They bring information to us and we then hand it over to the sector ministry. So when they want to go and see the place we say ” Go and get in touch with this person in this district or region and they will show you where”. They have been able to compile a very comprehensive program on areas of tourist interest and they have a document for each region. In that respect we also get informed and we know how we can fit into these areas. Some want to go into catering to cater for tourist when they come, so we go to the Ministry of Tourism and find out what it is doing in that district or region to be able to inform the women so that they can take part in what is going on. Now, in the area of free zones, the Movement itself has looked for land there because we want to go into the production, properly bagging the gari that we produce because people come to us to buy the gari and we do not bag it properly. We just put them into sacks and they buy it and go and bag it properly, and label it. And they make the money, not us. So we want to do it properly so we can make some money for the women who make it. Secondly, we are looking at how we can process cocoa at the free zone and we are looking for partners to join up with us. We have already got the land and we have a couple of people who we are negotiating with, because we want to move away from little things so that we can make money and lend in small micro credits to the poorest of the poor. So we are looking at these areas but we do not make a lot of noise about it because it is from the headquarters. In the regions they are smaller, much, much smaller.

Your 2 million members make up just over a fifth of the voting population of Ghana and could therefor be useful politically. Now, there have been calls for you to stop being assessed on political lines and just be considered for your work in securing the welfare of women and children in the Ghanaian society. Which of the two images do you associate yourself with more. The first lady who is a political campaigner or president of the Women’s Movement?

I think the Women’s Movement. But whenever I get the opportunity I will talk for the government. If I really did not believe in the gender sensitivity of the N.D.C. I probably would just keep quiet, but I do and I see the programs that have been put up for women and I see it as enhancing my work, enhancing the women’s position in the country. That is why I just keep going on and on. And I am a member of the party and for example I do not expect Mrs. Clinton to go and stand on a platform and start campaigning for the Republicans. I do not. Whatever she talks about she talks about the policies of the Democratic Party and I do the same. But my emphasis is on what policies are there for us as women to take advantage of? Is there anything else we can get this government to do for us while it is there? This is where my emphasis is directed. But I would prefer to be seen as a woman activist who is very, very political because I am. I think you must be political to want to see a change and an improvement in your country to begin with. Otherwise you might as well be sleeping in your room.

With all these problems facing the country; domestic debt, foreign debt, cocoa and gold price falling, what are your major concerns for the country as we go into the next Millennium? What worries you most? What has to be done?

It is a matter of prioritising because we have a number of issues that need to be addressed very, very seriously. If we look at the economic situation first and try to improve on that area, not only looking at this issue of foreign debt and what have you, but also for the rest of the world to try and see from our point of view, how we are suffering. We continue growing items like cocoa, coffee, tea and bringing out gold that we do not even refine, and somebody says if you do not have a stamp you cannot refine your gold and so on. If people put blockades in our way which mean that we cannot dictate our prices, you will continue having an impoverished third world, if I may put it that way, which in the long run will not be able to satisfy your need for your primary products, anyway. So it is in the interest of developed countries to make sure we also develop. That is the bottom line. So if we are talking about the economics of this country I can only express it deeply by relating it to the prices of our commodities outside the country because we have worked very hard in the last 18years? I do not know. We have really worked hard and have sacrificed a lot. The people of this country have sacrificed a lot. We can see definitely that the country is moving in an upward trend. But the point is that we are not seeing the fruits of our labour as we should. And that is because as we bring out more gold the price of gold is falls even further, as we produce more cocoa and coffee the prices fall even further. And yet we are blocked from bringing finished products into develloped countries. There is a blockade, especially in the United States. You cannot get much in there.

That might change

I hope so. But I do not see it in the very near future because there are all sorts of impediments. I can give you one example: somebody who wanted to export peanuts. So they bought some from Africa, from Central and Southern America and he told me he was not allowed to sell them in the US because they said, “we already grow our peanuts”. We also produce certain things and yet open our doors to you. So if we are opening ours, why are you closing yours? So how did he get the peanuts in? He got the Venezuelans to say, “If you do not let the peanuts in we will stop buying cars from you” and as everything there is from the US the peanuts were allowed in. But they only took 40%, which for the moment they say is okay. So it is like blackmail; a little of this here and a little of that there. If you do not have that leverage it means you are not going to sell anything. So with globalisation, either we are going to be the poorer or I do not know how it is going to work.

Do you not have faith in the African Growth Opportunities Act that is going to be passed in the United States.

I also have hope in that and I am hoping that Congress will pass it because we will have at least our little toes in there. Not the foot, just the little toe. And once you have the little toe in the doorway maybe you can push the door to get your foot in there and maybe you will have a little space in there. We are hoping.

You are good friends with Mrs. Hillary Clinton I believe?

Yes.

Do you have the same political aspirations as she does?

In what way? What does she want to do?

She wants to run for the U.S. Senate.

Really? I did not know that. That is a brilliant idea.

So are you thinking of running and when?

No, I am not thinking of running. If I am going to run at all, IF, it definitely is not going to be now. Because I do not think that is what I want to do. I want to get the women really empowered in a way that nobody can turn the clock back. That is what I want to do.

Can you not do that better if you are in the leadership of the nation?

It is not going to be easy because you are looking at the whole country. Well, it might be easier, I do not know. I have to look at it. I have not weighed it. But I think that it is not what I want to do at the moment. I have not given it much thought either because I always thought of getting on with my work. I haven’t really given it deep thought but I do not think that is what I am going to do, yet.

In the year 2004, maybe?

You know situations can sometimes change your mind about things, because you say 2004 but maybe in 2002 I will find something so exciting that I will not want anything to do with leadership position. I would want to restrict myself to the women and that is what is occupying my mind now. Since I cannot read into the future I do not want to make predictions because it is not something that I am thinking about yet. It is not something I have planned for.

Do you not discuss this with your husband?

Not really. We have sort of discussed what to do after the year 2000. And I have told him I am going to continue with my Movement, I am not going to stop and he said he does not expect me to stop because I have to continue empowering the women. But it is not the kind of discussion like strategising. Just how we can get our lives going and so on.

I really will not take any more of your time, but just conclude this thought, what does he want to do after the year 2000?

Lots of things. He wants to be able to help build his party well. He wants to be able to help bring peace to the sub-region and the continent of Africa. He understands the problems that spark the little conflicts, whether it is ethnicity or in the area of development.

Women of Ghana challenge trend towards modern rice varieties

News Ghana
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Source: G. Kranjac-Berisavljevic

Many communities in northern Ghana are strongly patrilineal by tradition.

Equipment for parboiling oflocal rice in Northern Ghana.

Only men can own land or dictate farming practices for the family. But in certain areas of northern Ghana, it is women who are ensuring the survival of one of the most important crops grown in the country: rice. The women have continued to cultivate traditional varieties of African rice in the face of increased reliance on improved varieties by the men of their communities.

African rice has high gluten content, a nutty taste, and is so filling when cooked that it is often regarded as an important component of meals. Local varieties of African rice are also highly resistant to drought and crop diseases. But in many communities, the men often choose to “modernize” by planting improved strains of Asian rice that, while they might be higher yielding and produce greater economic returns, lack the cultural significance and possibly the nutritional content of traditional varieties. The improved varieties are not parboiled before milling and many researchers believe that parboiled rice retains more protein, vitamins, and minerals and is more nutritious than raw milled rice.

The farmers of Gore, in the Bawku District of the Upper East Region of Ghana, are representative of the trend towards new varieties. In Gore, where land belongs to male farmers, only small plots are given to women; these tend to be water logged or infertile. Nevertheless, more women cultivate rice than men, and their fields tend to be better managed than those of the male farmers. According to surveys conducted by the University for Development Studies, Tamale in Ghana and the Savannah Agricultural Research Institute in 2001-2002, women could also describe the characteristics of many more rice varieties than their male counterparts.

Women farmers consider traditional rice varieties to be superior to modern varieties in several ways. Traditional rice requires only a short cooking time, suitable for the preparation of dishes such as waakye (cooked rice and beans) and rice balls. Traditional varieties perform well without expensive inputs such as the fertilizers and pesticides applied to most of the types introduced in Ghana over the past 30 or more years. They can also be cultivated in the adverse conditions of drought or floods.

Traditional rice varieties are economically important, most noticeably for parboiling. Parboiled rice is cooked briefly in boiling water and then submerged in ice-cold water to stop the cooking. Parboiled rice from the region commands a high price on the market due to its cooking quality. Thousands of women in northern Ghana increase their income by participating in the parboiled rice industry.

The women farmers of Gore name each rice variety they cultivate. Some varieties are named for the farmers who first introduced them to the community: Mariama, Peter and Mr. Moore. Agona is a variety originating from the town with the same name in the Ashanti region of Ghana. Other varieties are named for the size and shape of their grain. For instance, Agongula means “short grain of rice” in the local Kusal language, and Mui-sablic refers to the black colour of the husk. One variety’s name means “help me buy a dress” in the local language.

Each year, farmers plant their fields from seed reserved from the previous harvest. Some buy seed at the market or exchange with other villages from as far away as Burkina Faso and Togo. Others exchange seed locally with relatives, colleagues and friends. Women who mill small quantities of rice at the local mill often exchange seeds to try a new variety. Farmers also keep small quantities of seed in store after planting to avoid total loss of the material.

The women of Gore have made a conscious choice to maintain their traditional agricultural system. To us, their decision is a boon for biodiversity conservation; to them, it is just a logical continuation of a system that has worked for many years.

This story arose from work supported by a UNEP-GEF grant concerned with identifying the traditional practices that support the conservation of landraces in arid and semi-arid ecosystems in Africa. The aim of the project is to determine how national agricultural policies can better support traditional farming systems.

By G. Kranjac-Berisavljevic, University for Development Studies, Tamale, Ghana and P.B. Tanzubil, Savanna Agricultural Research Institute, Bawku, Manga, Ghana

Accountability office says it can bite

News Ghana
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To allay the fear and negative perceptions against the much talked-about Office of Accountability, Professor Kwabena Konadu Oduro, its chairman, has indicated his preparedness to probe into allegations of corruption leveled against every public official, including President Kufuor, provided they are relevant. According to him, he is more than prepared to wade into any such allegations leveled against the president provided there is basis on which the office could rely to institute the investigations, and the one making the allegations also willing to assist in the process with the needed facts.


This, he said, should send a clear signal to each and every Ghanaian that its operations cut across all sectors of the public service with the seat of government not left out.

By this, he noted that every Ghanaian would obviously come to the understanding that even the Chief Executive of this country is not above the provisions of the law, as some sections of the public tend to believe.

He averred that the office would therefore not hesitate to institute investigations into allegations of corruption or its related cases leveled against the president, stressing that the office would not allow itself to be subjected to any manipulation from any quarters.

Speaking at a news conference in Accra, he stressed that his outfit is ready to investigate any such allegations leveled against any other public servant whose actions and inaction is brought to its attention.

To discharge this daunting task, he indicated that the accountability office does not need hard evidence from individuals and corporate bodies that make the allegations, but rather, a credible and reliable lead, which would enable them wade into the investigations.

Prof. Oduro noted that in as much as the president and all other public office holders have vowed to uphold the constitution of the republic, he is rest assured that they are prepared to be submissive to its tenets.

He noted that by submitting themselves to the law, for investigations to be conducted, public servants who corruption allegations are leveled against would have a fair and even opportunity to clear their names and credibility.

According to him, every public servant whose actions and inactions are brought to the notice of his office, would be subjected to a vigorous investigation to unearth the truth or otherwise of it in order not to create a negative impression in the minds of Ghanaians, some of whom have already expressed doubts about its ability to probe into and investigate allegations against public officials, especially those in government.

He said though he appreciates the concerns being raised about the ability of his office to wade into allegations against highly-placed persons in government, there is an urgent need to discard the notions of people habouring such doubts, since the office is not in existence to please any official.

Rather, he noted that it is in existence to ensure that public officials, especially those in government, do not by virtue of their positions, abuse the powers vested in them to indulge in corrupt practices at the expense of the ordinary taxpayer.

Sounding a note of caution to public officials who abuse their positions for personal gains, Prof. Oduro intimated that there is no room to accommodate them under the tenets of the much-talked about zero tolerance for corruption as promised by the president.

That notwithstanding, he indicated that the office would bear all the cost of any enquiry into allegations it is given.

He however noted that such information must be relevant with the individual informant willing to help establish the truth with the needed facts.

He also reiterated that the office does not encourage mischief making or witch-hunting, since it (accountability office) is out to discharge its duties efficiently.

Source:?Chronicle

 

 

Filth Dents Image Of Nation – Kufuor

GNA
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Accra, Dec. 19, GNA – President John Agyekum Kufour on Monday took Metropolitan,?Municipal and District Chief Executives to task on the poor state of sanitation in the cities and municipalities saying the unsanitary conditions in the cities were a health threat, dented the image of the nation and indictment on the District Assemblies.
poor state of sanitation
“Sanitation has become a topical issue that we can hardly ignore. Our cities and municipalities in particular have become engulfed in filth as evidenced by the increasing heaps of rubbish that we encounter by our roads and our residential areas,” he said.

“To say the least, this is an indictment on the Assemblies which you as Chief Executives are managing,” he said in a speech read on his behalf by Mr Hackman Owusu-Agyemang, Minister of Water Resources, Works and Housing at the opening of the 12th Annual Conference of Chief Executives of Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies underway at the Institute of Local Government Studies, near Accra.

The two-day conference on the theme: “Responsive Local Government for Poverty Reduction and Wealth Creation – The Way Forward,” is to take stock of the activities of the assemblies during the past year and to chart the path for the New Year.

The Conference is examining issues relating to district revenue mobilisation, alternatives to financing sanitation and waste management, NEPAD, school-feeding?programme, tourism and?modernisation?of the capital city.

Other issue being examined are the District Development Planning Guidelines 2006-2010, enhancing district statistical capacity, the 2006 District Level Elections, and sharing experiences on the implementation of the Procurement Act.

President Kufour said the problem of sanitation should be considered as a dual responsibility of both the local authorities and citizens to behave responsibly in waste disposal and removal, maintenance of efficient sanitation, and also engage in sanitary practices.

President Kufour observed that so far more attention had been placed on the inability of the district assemblies to contain the waste, without not often considering the problems of the enormity of cost and the difficulty of finding appropriate methods and locations for disposal.

The citizens’ contribution to the solution of the problem was also not?emphasised, the President noted.

President Kufuor requested the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development to consider upgrading the Environmental Sanitation Unit to the status of Directorate of Environmental Health and Sanitation, to spearhead the review of?Environmental Health?Policy?to articulate more clearly the Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy II targets of the Millennium Development Goals.

The President said it was imperative for Chief Executives to spend some time to reflect on how to strategically address the weakness in the existing systems of revenue mobilisation, adding that the over-reliance on Central Government sources to finance development was not a healthy sign.

“Indeed, poverty reduction would be greatly accelerated if our District Assemblies could satisfactorily implement the resources provided by HIPC relief and the District Assemblies’ Common Fund.” President Kufuor expressed appreciation to the efforts of the Chief Executives tofamiliarise?themselves with the Medium Term Planning Guidelines in the Growth and Poverty Reduction Strategy II, for the period 2006-2009, which reflected the priorities of private sector competitiveness, human resource development, good governance and social responsibility.

The President said it was imperative for District Assemblies to interpret the guidelines within the context of their local priorities and make them meaningful to their people.

He asked the Chief Executives to give the issue of adequate statistical capacity attention by collaborating with the?Ghana Statistical Service?in its efforts to?decentralise?its activities. President Kufuor noted that Local Government was the bedrock of local democracy, and a training ground for the exercise of civic responsibility.

He asked the Chief Executives to assist in creating an enabling and peaceful environment by assisting the National Electoral Commission and the National Commission on Civic Education in creating awareness for the conduct of next year’s District Level Elections.

The President said the?vote is about electing persons to work with Chief Executives to facilitate development, and people should have an enabling environment to feel encouraged and safe to offer themselves for public service.

Local Government and Rural Development?Minister, Mr. Charles?Bintim, re-echoed the sanitation situation, and asked the Chief Executives to declare the first half of 2006 as filth free.?He said low revenue mobilisation partly accounted for the sanitation problem and asked the Chief Executives?to intensify their efforts to increase revenue mobilisation?from the present 14 per cent to 50 per cent.

Mr?Bintim?said it was a wrong notion that the District Assemblies were corrupt institutions, and asked the Chief Executives to work hard to win the trust of the people and ensure that they had Members of Parliament on their tender board committees.

Nana Boakye Danquah, Chairman of the Local Government Council,?reminded the Chief Executives to be cautious of their activities since the messages they sent were a reflection of government. He said?any development they undertook must be qualitative to satisfy the masses’ demand for value for money. 19 Dec. 05

U.S. Rules Block Katrina Food Aid

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By Ceci Connolly

Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, October 14, 2005 

In the early days of September, as military helicopters plucked desperate New Orleanians from rooftops and Red Cross shelters swelled with the displaced, nearly 400,000 packaged meals landed on a tarmac at Little Rock Air Force Base and were whisked by tractor-trailer to Louisiana.

But most of the $5.3 million worth of food never reached the victims of Hurricane Katrina. Instead, because of fears about mad cow disease and a long-standing ban on British beef, the rations routinely consumed by British soldiers have sat stacked in a warehouse in Arkansas for more than a month.

Now, with some of the food set to expire in early 2006 and U.S. taxpayers spending $16,000 a month to store the meals, the State Department is quickly and quietly looking for a needy country to take them.

In a disaster recovery effort that has been widely criticized as slow, inefficient and at times wasteful, the long and costly journey of the British rations is a tale of good intentions colliding with a cumbersome bureaucracy.

No fewer than six federal agencies or departments had a role in accepting, distributing and rejecting the food. Even now, there remains a disagreement within the Bush administration over which office shipped the meals to 14 locations in Louisiana and which is responsible for paying the mounting storage fees.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency, which oversees domestic disasters, “knew from e-mails the stuff was moving out there, but we never had control or said anything about it,” said spokesman Kim Pease. “It was under control of” the U.S. Agency for International Development, he said.

But USAID spokesman Kevin Sheridan said his agency simply provided logistic support, helping deliver to the Gulf Coast region foreign donations that were acquired by the State Department.

A spokesman for the British Embassy, citing diplomatic protocol in requesting anonymity, said he was puzzled by the turn of events.

“There was a specific request for emergency ration packs, and we responded to that,” he said. “We had no reason to believe there would be a problem.”

What is clear is that by late on Sept. 8, inspectors from the Agriculture Department halted the distribution because the packaged meals violated import laws that “no beef or poultry of any kind is accepted from Great Britain,” spokeswoman Terri Teuber said.

Since 1997, the United States has banned beef products from Britain and several other European countries that have been affected by bovine spongiform encephalopathy, known as mad cow disease. A degenerative disease of the central nervous system, BSE is fatal in cattle and can lead to a similar illness in humans called variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.

“There was a careful review of the law to determine whether there was some flexibility, and at this point that has not been the case,” Teuber said.

At the same time, it appeared the urgent need for food had subsided as evacuees reached shelters and other locations with electricity and supplies, she said. “There is no question that different consideration would have been given to the situation if people were going hungry,” Teuber added.

The journey began early on Sept. 5, as the first packs, stacked six feet high and loaded onto pallets, left Brize Norton air base in Oxfordshire, England. Aboard chartered aircraft, they were flown 4,400 miles to Arkansas at a cost of $4.7 million, according to the British Embassy.

A wire service photographer documented the arrival that same day, one week after Katrina blew through the Gulf Coast, said Lt. Jon Quinlan, a base spokesman.

In a conference call Sept. 6, USDA officials learned that “food donations may be coming that needed inspection,” Teuber said. But confirmation didn’t reach them until Sept. 8, three days after the first shipment touched down.

As the rations rode 355 more miles to New Orleans, USDA inspectors hit the road — literally chasing the delivery trucks to shelters, the city’s downtown convention center and other locations where evacuees were found.

Severe flooding prevented inspectors from reaching four sites, and by the time they arrived at the 10 others, about 115,000 meal packs had been distributed. Some were vegetarian, satisfying the Food and Drug Administration, which has jurisdiction over nonmeat imports, spokeswoman Kimberly Rawlings said.

The others, with meat in them, should not have been handed out, Teuber said.

“We didn’t want to distribute food that’s not approved on a daily basis for American consumption to those impacted by the hurricanes,” she said.

The inspectors turned the trucks around for the return trip to Arkansas, where the meals remain.

State Department officials have considered sending the food to Guatemala, which was devastated by mudslides. But the impoverished country does not have vehicles to transport the enormous pallets. For cultural reasons, the meals would be inappropriate for Pakistani earthquake victims.

“Everyone wants a happy ending,” said a senior State Department official who requested anonymity, given the already bruised feelings in Britain. “No one wants them to go to waste. Everyone wants them to be put to good use.”

 

??2005?The Washington Post Company

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