Life in Africa and Ghana

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Life in Africa and Ghana
By Prof. Dr. Emmanuel Boon
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AFRICA

• 2nd Largest continent (30 million km2)
• 2nd most populated continent (almost
• 15 of world population
• Large natural resource base

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THE AFRICA OF THE PAST

• Most undeveloped continent in the world
• Years of slave trade and colonialism
• War and bad governance
• Mismanagement of Natural Resources
• AIDS

Dark Continent
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A CONTINENT ON THE RISE

• Increasingly democratic
• The rate of return on foreign investment
• is higher than in any other region.
• Telcom, banking, retailing and construction are
  flourishing.

• Africas collective GDP, at 1.6 trillion in
  2008, is roughly equal to Brazils or Russias

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GHANA

• Land size of almost 240,000 km2
• Geographically closer to the "centre" of the
  world than any other country.

• Trade with Europe (Portuguese) began in the
• 15th century

• 1874 - British established the Gold Coast Crown
  colony.

• Political independence in 1957
• Founding member of the OAU and ECOWAS,
• member of UN and other intl bodies

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Political situation

• Ghana is divided into 10 administrative regions,
  subdivided into a total of 170 districts
• Legal system based on British common law,
  customary (traditional) law, and the 1992
  constitution
• Placed 118 among countries on the 2011 Failed
  States Index

• Constitutional Democracy (4th Republic)

• Two major political parties

1992, 1996 2008
2004, 2008
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CULTURAL DYNAMICS

• Ghana is an ethnically diverse country comprising
  over 60 ethnic groups
• 52 major languages and hundreds of dialects are
  spoken in Ghana, official language is English
• Major religions are Christianity, Islam and
  Traditional African Religion
• The celebration of festivals in Ghana is an
  essential part of Ghanaian culture.

• PANAFEST (an international festival held very
  summer celebrating African roots)

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Education and Human Resource Development
Education Level Number of Institutions
Primary 21, 530
JHS 8,850
SSS 900
Public Training Colleges 52
Private Training Colleges 5
Polytechnics 10
Non University tertiary institutions 4
Public Universities 8
Private Tertiary Institutions 45

• Ghana has a population of about 24 million
• Population Growth Rate 2.4 per annum

• The adult literacy rate in Ghana was 65 in
  2007
• (males-71.7), (females-58.3)

• Ghana's spending on education has varied
  between 28-40 of its annual budget in
• the past decade.

• With 83 of its children in school, Ghana
  currently has one of the highest school
  enrollment rates in West Africa.

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State of the Economy

• The World's Fastest Growing Economy in 2011
  (Banker Magazine, July 2011 Economy Watch, Aug.
  2011)
• 
  
  
  
• 
  
  
  
• 
  
  
  Source Ghana
  Statistical Service, IMF
  The FPSO Kwame Nkrumah

• Ghanas Labour force is 11.5 million people

• Now a lower Middle Income Economy endowed with
  natural resources

• Major oil discovery off the coast of Ghana in
  2007 has led to significant
• international commercial interest in Ghana

• Oil is expected to account for 6 of the revenue
  for 2011

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Food and Hunger

• Agriculture is the backbone of the Ghanaian
  economy
• Principal Agricultural exports Cocoa, Timber, etc
      
• The sector grew at 2.8 in 2011 compared to a
  target of 5.3
• Country on target to meet MDG 1
• Agriculture accounts for 33.7 of GDP and
  provides employment for 56 of the work force

AGRICULTURAL SUBSECTORS BY GDP ()
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Trade and Globalization

• Member of WTO since 1 January 1995

Exports Destination Source of Imports
South Africa 44.0 EU 27.8
EU 26.4 China 11.7
India 5.3 Nigeria 8.7
Malaysia 3.2 United States 7.7
USA 2.8 India 4.3
Source WTO
Commodity Imports
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• Tema Port is the biggest of the two seaports in
  Ghana. Handles 80 of the nations import and
  export cargo
• Traffic junction for transit cargo destined for
  the landlocked countries such as Burkina Faso,
  Mali and Niger

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ENVIRONMENTAL SITUATION

• Climate tropical warm and comparatively dry
  along southeast coast hot and humid in
  southwest hot and dry in north
• There are two main seasons in Ghana the wet and
  the dry seasons.
• Natural hazards dry, dusty, northeastern
  harmattan winds occur from January to March

• Lake Volta, the world's largest artificial lake,
  extends through large portions of eastern Ghana
  and is the main source of many rivers

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ENVIRONMENTAL CHALLENGES

• Recurrent drought in the north severely affects
  agricultural activities
• Deforestation overgrazing soil erosion
  poaching and habitat destruction
• Water pollution inadequate supplies of potable
  water
• Environmental disasters caused by annual floods

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CONCLUSION

• Africa is a continent on the rise
• Democracy is gaining roots and good governance
  taking shape
• Ghana faces challenges in consolidating the gains
  made over the last two decades
• Investor confidence in Ghana has grown
  significantly
• Investment opportunities abound in investor
  friendly climates such as Ghana.

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• MEDAASE!!
• Merci !!!