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Life in Africa and Ghana

Life in Africa and Ghana. By Prof. Dr. Emmanuel Boon. AFRICA. 2 nd Largest continent (30 million km 2 ) 2 nd most populated continent (almost 15% of world population Large natural resource base. THE AFRICA OF THE PAST. Most undeveloped continent in the world:

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Life in Africa and Ghana

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

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

  3. 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

  4. 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. • Africa’s collective GDP, at $1.6 trillion in 2008, is roughly equal to Brazil’s or Russia’s

  5. GHANA • Political independence in 1957 • Founding member of the OAU and ECOWAS, member of UN and other int’l bodies • 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 CoastCrown colony.

  6. 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

  7. 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)

  8. Education and Human Resource Development • 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.

  9. State of the Economy • Ghana’s Labour force is 11.5 million people • 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 • 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

  10. 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 (%)

  11. Trade and Globalization • Member of WTO since 1 January 1995 Commodity Exports Source: WTO Commodity Imports

  12. Tema Port is the biggest of the two seaports in Ghana. Handles 80% of the nation’s import and export cargo • Traffic junction for transit cargo destined for the landlocked countries such as Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger

  13. 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

  14. 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

  15. 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.

  16. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION MEDAASE!! Merci !!!

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