Ghana 50 Years On
Ghana 50 Years On
Assess whether life in Ghana is improving and what issues it faces for the future
Speaking for the Ghanaian Government; Frank Agyekum, ‘Ghana has done well’ he says. ‘Ghana is a thriving democracy with a stable economy’ he claims. ‘Kids got to school and are fed’, but the crowd does not agree. A graduate, Samuel Ablakwa, explains that children are ‘still on the streets hawking’ and people have to pay for uniforms and textbooks. He also contests prosperity saying ‘I’m still carrying buckets on my head! Maybe our economists are cooking up figures.’
Ghana is celebrating its 50th birthday from the end of British colonial rule and gained its independence. Some parts of this rule still exist for example the official language is still English and the colonial rule did actually brings some benefits like schools and hospitals however Ghana has seen little development since 1957 where they had an equal GDP per capita to South Korea who have developed rapidly compared to a third of people in Ghana now living a dollar or less a day. The reality is that between 1987 and 2007, Ghana’s exports have risen to $4.2 billion from $863 million which is huge but fairly tame compared to imports rising to $8.1 billion from $783 million, all in 30 years. Within that time period their debt has risen $1 million to $3.4 billion. It’s evidently in a pretty dire financial state. However
Arguably Ghana has never been in control of its own country at all as they still rely on decisions being made for them for oversees. Basically countries such the UK are still in control of Ghana today, known as neo-colonialism, which presents a real obstacle for making any meaningful social and economic development for the future as the unfortunate reality is that wealthier countries in positions of power are taking advantage of Ghana and its people.
During colonial times Ghana was the world’s largest producer of cocoa and British colonial government dictated the price for farmers (unfairly)
Assess whether life in Ghana is improving and what issues it faces for the future
Speaking for the Ghanaian Government; Frank Agyekum, ‘Ghana has done well’ he says. ‘Ghana is a thriving democracy with a stable economy’ he claims. ‘Kids got to school and are fed’, but the crowd does not agree. A graduate, Samuel Ablakwa, explains that children are ‘still on the streets hawking’ and people have to pay for uniforms and textbooks. He also contests prosperity saying ‘I’m still carrying buckets on my head! Maybe our economists are cooking up figures.’
Ghana is celebrating its 50th birthday from the end of British colonial rule and gained its independence. Some parts of this rule still exist for example the official language is still English and the colonial rule did actually brings some benefits like schools and hospitals however Ghana has seen little development since 1957 where they had an equal GDP per capita to South Korea who have developed rapidly compared to a third of people in Ghana now living a dollar or less a day. The reality is that between 1987 and 2007, Ghana’s exports have risen to $4.2 billion from $863 million which is huge but fairly tame compared to imports rising to $8.1 billion from $783 million, all in 30 years. Within that time period their debt has risen $1 million to $3.4 billion. It’s evidently in a pretty dire financial state. However
Arguably Ghana has never been in control of its own country at all as they still rely on decisions being made for them for oversees. Basically countries such the UK are still in control of Ghana today, known as neo-colonialism, which presents a real obstacle for making any meaningful social and economic development for the future as the unfortunate reality is that wealthier countries in positions of power are taking advantage of Ghana and its people.
During colonial times Ghana was the world’s largest producer of cocoa and British colonial government dictated the price for farmers (unfairly)