Ghana
Located on the coast of West Africa, Ghana occupies a total land area of 228,000 square kilometers (88,000 square miles). The population, estimated in 2004 to be approximately 20.3 million, is comprised of several tribal groups, including the Akan, Moshi-Dagomba, Ewe, and Ga. According the World Bank, the gross national income per capita in 2002 was $270. The climate is tropical; the weather is warm and comparatively dry along the southeast coast, hot and humid in the southwest, and hot and dry in the north. The terrain consists mostly of low plains, with a dissected plateau in the south-central area. Ghana is home to Volta Lake, the world's largest artificial lake.
A former British colony, Ghana became the first country in sub-Saharan Africa to gain its independence in 1957 under the leadership of Kwame Nkrumah (1909–1972). Beginning in 1964, a series of coups resulted in the suspension of three constitutions until a fourth was approved in 1992, which has since remained the basis for government. Becoming effective on January 7, 1993, the 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana incorporates provisions and institutions drawn from British and U.S. constitutional models. Like the American system, it provides for the sharing of powers among a president, a legislature, and an independent judiciary through a system of checks and balances designed to limit the power of any one branch of government.
The president has executive authority as head of state, head of government, and commander in chief of the armed forces. As in the United States, the president is limited to two four-year terms. Jerry Rawlings (b. 1947) won presidential elections in 1992 and 1996 and was succeeded by John Kufuor (b. 1938) in a free and fair election in 2000. The National Parliament, a unicameral body of two hundred members, performs legislative functions. Members of parliament are popularly elected by universal adult suffrage to four-year terms. Unlike the American system, members of parliament can also hold dual positions as ministers appointed by the president. The president, who has a qualified veto over all bills (except those to which a vote of urgency is attached), must consent to any legislation before it becomes law. The structure and the power of the judiciary are independent of all other branches of government. The Supreme Court has broad powers of judicial review, and it has the authority to rule on the constitutionality of any legislative or executive action at the request of any aggrieved citizen.
A salient feature of the 1992 constitution is the inclusion of fundamental human rights and freedoms enforceable by the courts. In a further effort to guarantee these basic human rights and freedoms, the constitution provides for an autonomous Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice,
(MAP BY MARYLAND CARTOGRAPHICS/THE GALE GROUP)which is empowered to investigate alleged human-rights violations, injustice, corruption, abuse of power, and unfair treatment of any person by a public officer. This commission can also take action to remedy proven abuses. The constitution guarantees the freedom and independence of the media and makes any form of censorship unconstitutional. Although there have been a few challenges to the implementation of these constitutional provisions, experts believe the foundation has been laid for improvement in democratic governance, an independent press, and the active participation of civic society in Ghana. Freedom House, therefore, rated Ghana as a "free" country in 2003.
Constitutions and Constitutionalism; Dictatorship.
Bibliography
Aryee, Joseph R. "Ghana." In Public Administration in Africa: Main Issues and Selected County Studies, ed. Ladipo Adamolekun. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1999.
Freedom House. "Ghana." Freedom in the World 2004. New York: Freedom House, 2004. <http://www.freedomhouse.org/res earch/freeworld/2004/countryratings/gha na.htm>.
"Ghana." In CIA World Factbook. Washington, DC: Central Intelligence Agency, 2005. <http://www.cia.gov/cia/publicat ions/factbook/geos/gh.html>.
World Bank. African Development Indicators. Washington, DC: The World Bank, 2004.
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