Basic HTML Version
The Lion King | 19
Languages
Ghana has 47 ethnic languages
however English is the country’s
official language and predomi-
nates government and business
activities. It is also the standard
language used for educational
instruction. Nine languages
have the status of government-
sponsored languages: Akan,
specifically Ashanti -Twi, Fanti,
Akuapem Twi, Akyem, Kwahu,
Nzema; Dagaare/Wale,
Dagbani, Dangme, Ewe, Ga,
Gonja and Kasem.
People and Culture
Ghana is an ethnically diverse
country; thus, the Ghana-
ian culture is a mixture of all
its ethnic groups, the Ashanti,
Fante, Akyem, Kwahu, Ga,
Ewe, Mamprusi and Dagomba,
among others. It is most evident
in Ghanaian cuisine, the arts
and clothing. The celebration of
festivals in Ghana is an essential
part of Ghanaian culture and
there are many of them such as
the Homowo, Odwira, Aboakyer,
Damba, Hogbetsotso, Fetu
Afahye and Sandema among
others. Each tribe has a distinct
language and tradition but have
similar beliefs and a contempo-
rary history that unites them as
one people. Several rites and
rituals are performed through-
out the year in various parts of
the country, including child-
birth, rites of passage, puberty,
marriage and death.
Economy
Political stability has become
the hallmark of Ghana’s invest-
ment profile and together with
a relatively low crime rate,
competitive wages, solid fiscal
indicators, and a qualified labour
pool, the republic has emerged
as an increasingly alluring
destination for foreign investors
looking to move into West Africa.
In 2012 Ghana’s FDIs was US$4.9
billion. Ghana recorded a real
GDP growth of 14.4% in 2011 [the
highest in the world that year]
and also achieved a provisional
real GDP growth of 8.8% in 2012.
Ghana has a relatively high
production value for a West
African nation with a per capita
output of over $1,500 in 2012
and GDP of around $37.8 billion
in 2012. Mining (gold), crude oil
and cocoa are the main foreign
exchange earners. Cocoa is
the country’s main agricultural
commodity employing about
two million people as at 2012.
With the discovery of sizeable
hydrocarbon deposits off the
coast, Ghana’s offshore Jubilee
field began in late December,
2010 with the first lifting of light
sweet crude in January 2011. The
national currency is the Cedi.
KWAME NKRUMAH
first Prime Minister and then
President of the modern Ghana-
ian state, was not only an African
anti-colonial leader but also
one with a dream of a united
Africa which would not drift into
neo-colonialism. He was the first
African head of state to promote
Pan-Africanism, an idea he
came into contact with during
his studies at Lincoln University in
Pennsylvania (United States), at
the time when Marcus Garvey
was becoming famous for his
“Back to Africa Movement.”
He merged the dreams of both
Marcus Garvey and the celebrat-
ed African-American scholar W.
E. B. Du Bois into the formation of
the modern day Ghana. Ghana’s
principles of freedom and justice,
equity and free compulsory basic
education for all, irrespective
of ethnic background, religion
or creed, borrow from Kwame
Nkrumah’s implementation of
Pan-Africanism.
Nkrumah saw Ghana as the “Star
of Black Africa.” He believed that
Ghana should lead the effort
to free Africa from the shack-
les of Western colonialism and
envisioned a union of independ-
ent African states that would
command respect in the world.
Nkrumah also helped found
the Non-Aligned Movement, a
grouping of world states that
attempted to pursue policies
independent of East and West.
His ideas about African unity
proved immensely appealing in
the late 1950s and early 1960s;
indeed, the Pan-Africanist dream
still resonates across Africa even
till today.
Although his goal of African
unity never realized, Osagyefo
Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, as he was
known, played an instrumen-
tal part in the founding of the
Organization of African Unity,
which was succeeded in 2002
by the African Union. No other
government in Ghana can match
the rate of industrialization that
Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah
championed. His achievements
were recognized by Ghana-
ians during his Centenary birth-
day celebrations and the day
instituted as a public holiday in
Ghana. Dr. Kwame Nkrumah’s
popularity was a major concern
for the West. It was no surprise
that Nkrumah was subsequently
overthrown by the military
while abroad in February 1966.
Nkrumah was born on the 21st
of September 1909 and died on
April 27, 1972.
Country Focus
Kwame Nkrumah (1909 - 1972). Photo by Getty Images