Essay On Ghana

Tim Combley

BA 475 Country Study

Ghana

We cannot start talking about modern Ghana without first acknowledging the history of this republic. During medieval times, kings named Ghana ruled the Wagadugu Empire of West Africa. This Empire thrived until the end of the twelfth century when droughts and decline in the gold mine industry brought hardships too great to overcome. The different tribes that make up modern Ghana settled into their current location near the end of the 16th century. The Portuguese first colonized this location, formerly known as the Gold Coast for its abundance of the mineral, in the late 1400’s. During the next few centuries, war and disputes between European nations caused control over Ghana to shift to the Dutch, English, Danish, and Swedish, until ultimately coming under British rule during the late 19th century. The Gold Coast ultimately gained its independence from Britain in 1957 and changed its name to the Republic of Ghana in 1960.

Moving onto modern Ghana, it is fitting to first talk about the infrastructure of this country as it is one of the most developed of all the countries in Africa. One of the most important forms of transportation to the economy in Ghana is road transportation. It is estimated that road transport accounts for 96% of passenger and freight traffic in Ghana and about 97% of passenger miles in the country(citation). Large buses that can hold more than 30 passengers has become one of the defining trends in transportation in Ghana’s large cities, this is also important because auto-manufacturing is one of the largest industries in Ghana. According to the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre, the intention of the government is to toll many of the existing highways and have more priva...

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...a is the second largest producer of cocoa beans in the world and the country earns nearly 1 billion dollars annually from the global market for chocolate,”(Our-Africa). Something that I found interesting about Ghana’s newly found oil reserves off the coast is that the government is making plans to ensure that the profits from the oil go to the state and not into the pockets of the oil companies. They are unselfishly spreading the wealth throughout the country, a model that may prove to be an example for other countries to follow in the future.

Although Ghana is the second largest producer of cocoa, when the rainfall is not good in certain years the villages that rely on the cocoa plants suffer the greatest. Basic needs such as clean drinking water, hospitals, education, and proper sanitation are the main problems that the rural areas of Ghana are facing. However,