Ghana returned to\nconstitutional rule and multi-party democracy after a topsy-turvy eight\nmilitary regimes from 1966 to 1982 without any clear sense of direction for her\npolitical and socio-economic development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Therefore, the 1992 Constitution, which came\ninto effect on January 7, 1993, provided the nation a sovereign document and\nclear direction for organising a democratic State.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The country adopted a Unitary Republic with\nsovereignty residing in the people and designed to ensure probity,\naccountability and the rule of law as well as ensuring power-sharing among the\nthree arms of government, namely; the Executive, Legislative and Judiciary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The 1992 Constitution reflected the lessons\nlearnt from the previous constitutions of Ghana including the 1957, 1960, 1969\nand 1979, and also incorporated some provisions and institutions drawn from\nBritish and United States constitutional style.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Flight Lieutenant Jerry John Rawlings, a\nretired Air Force pilot, who for 10 years, presided over the Provisional\nNational Defence Council (PNDC), won the 1992 presidential elections and was\nsubsequently sworn into office on January 7, 1993.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Most Ghanaians remember Former President\nRawlings for his charisma, championing the principles of discipline, probity\nand accountability, who led the economic recovery programme during his 10 years\nas the Head of State under the PNDC Administration and eight years as the first\nPresident under the Fourth Republican Constitutional dispensation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, his critics believed he (Rawlings)\npresided over a society characterised by so many human rights abuses and\natrocities, while freedom of expression by the media, the judiciary and other\nmembers of the public were trampled upon with impunity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Though there were others who credited Rawlings\nfor championing media pluralism in the country and allowing the establishment\nof private radio and television stations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After serving two terms in office, President\nRawlings handed over political power to John Agyekum Kufuor on January 7, 2001.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Former President Kufuor, popularly known as\nthe \u201cgentle giant\u201d became the second President under the Fourth Republic after\nemerging victorious in the 2000 presidential polls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He was sworn into office on January 7, 2001,\nmarking the first peaceful democratic transition of political power in Ghana\nsince independence in 1957.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
President Kufuor was fondly remembered by many\nfor his courageous decision to take Ghana to the Highly Indebted Poor Country\nInitiative, which was intended to cancel the country\u2019s foreign debts, restore\nthe national economy and put it on the path of growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He introduced some programmes under the five\npriority areas, including the pursuit of good governance, modernisation of agriculture\nfor rural development, private sector development, enhanced social services and\nvigorous infrastructure development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was during the administration of President\nKufuor that the private sector was touted as the engine of growth and created the\nPrivate Sector Initiatives for cassava and palm nut plantations, which was to\nharness the creativity and the entrepreneurial spirit of the Ghanaian for\nwealth creation and prosperity for all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
President Kufuor extended credit to\nsmall-scale businesses and made the realisation of all-inclusive government\npossible by appointing Dr Paa Kwesi Nduom, the then member of the Convention\nPeople\u2019s Party (CPP) and Alhaji Inusa of the People\u2019s National Convention (PNC)\ninto his government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He also introduced the Metro Mass Transport\nsystem, the National Health Insurance Scheme, the development of model Senior\nHigh Schools, the School Feeding Programme and the Livelihood Empowerment\nagainst Poverty (LEAP).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After serving two terms in office, President\nJ. A. Kufuor bowed out of the political scene as the Constitution of Ghana\ndemanded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Ghanaian electorate, through the ballot\nbox, voted in Professor John Evans Atta-Mills, popularly known as \u201cAsomdwee\nHene\u201d into power as the third President of the Fourth Republic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ghanaians liked him for his Godly character\nand humility, which resonated through his speeches and relationship with his\nfellow Ghanaians.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
President Atta-Mills showed his Godly\ncharacter by defiantly declaring to the Western countries that Ghana would not\nlegalise homosexuality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With his vast knowledge in taxation, President\nAtta-Mills introduced economic programmes and policies, which reduced inflation\nto a single digit, ensured a stable currency and increased the country\u2019s economic\ngrowth rate to 14 per cent in 2011, and Ghana started producing crude oil in\ncommercial quantities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After President Prof. Atta-Mills\u2019 sudden\ndemise in 2012, his vice John Dramani Mahama was sworn-in as President and led\nthe country into peaceful election on December 7, 2012, which he eventually\nwon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
President Mahama, who continued the policies\nand programmes of his predecessor, steered the country to achieve some\nsuccesses, including infrastructural development such as construction of roads,\ncommunity senior high schools, health facilities, electrification projects, and\nrespect for the rule of law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, his administration witnessed\nprolonged electricity crisis, otherwise known as \u201cdumsor\u201d\u201d leading to the\ncollapse of some businesses and allegations of corruption by members of his\ngovernment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ghanaians eventually voted against him in the\n2016 general election, and ushered-in the Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo led\ngovernment into office on January 7, 2017.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nana Akufo-Addo came into power on the back of\nmany juicy promises, which were outlined in the NPP manifesto, including the\n\u201cOne District, One Factory, \u201cOne Constituency, One Million Cedis\u201d, \u201cOne\nVillage, One Dam\u201d, Free Senior High School Policy, intention to create jobs for\nthe numerous unemployed youth, stimulus package for collapsing but viable\nbusinesses, protecting the public purse and fight corruption.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nana Akufo-Addo reiterated his intention to\nfulfil those promises during his inaugural address on January 7, 2017 and gave\nthe assurance that, he would not disappoint Ghanaians.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At the 72nd Session of the United Nations\nGeneral Assembly in New York, USA, last year, President Akufo-Addo told the\nworld that Ghana was determined to realise her potentials and ensuring a\nprosperous nation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He said: \u201cWe want to build an economy that is\nnot dependent on charity and hand-outs but we want to build an economy that\nlooks past primary commodity and position our country in a global market place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe\u2019re not disclaiming aid but we do want to\ndiscard the mind-set of dependency and living on hand-outs, we want to build a\nGhana beyond aid\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
President Akufo-Addo named his ministers and\nother appointees in record time but some Ghanaians lambasted the government for\nappointing 110 ministers, which is the highest number in any of the Fourth\nRepublic government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The government witnessed some tough moments\nwith some members of the ruling party, the Invincible Forces, attacking some\ngovernment appointees in an act of political vigilantism, which created\ninsecurity in the country and painted a bad picture of the country in the eyes\nof the international community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Government took a bold step to clamp down on\nillegal small-scale mining, otherwise known as \u201cgalamsey\u201d leading to a\nsix-month moratorium on all operations of small-scale mining in view of the\nenvironmental devastation the phenomenon had caused to vegetation and water\nbodies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Akufo-Addo led government rolled out its\nEconomic Policy and Budget Statement in March 2017, which planned to stabilise\nthe local currency, reduce inflation, undertake debts profiling and ensure\nstable macroeconomic indicators that would create conducive environment for\ndoing business. Government announced some tax cuts for businesses in the\nbudget.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It also rolled-out its flagship Free SHS\npolicy on September 13, 2017, which saw government footing the bills of over\n360,000 BECE candidates who qualified for admission into senior high school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The government also re-introduced the teacher\nand nursing trainee allowances, paperless ports programme, e-registration of\nbusinesses, National Property Addressing System and e-licensing of vehicles,\nand started putting structures in place to roll out the National Identification\nSystem,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta announced\nin the 2018 budget in November last year that, Government had chalked some\nsuccesses in managing the economy in 2017 with the GDP growth pegged around 7.8\nper cent from 3.6 in 2016, reduction of the policy rate from 26 per cent to 20,\nreduction of inflation from 15.4 per cent to 11.7 per cent as of September.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mr Ofori-Atta indicated that the country\u2019s\ndebt stock had reduced from 73 per cent to GDP to 68.3 as of September 2017, the\nfiscal deficit which in 2016 was around 9.3 is projected around 6. 3 per cent\nby the end of 2017.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, Dr Eric Osei-Assibey, an Economist\nand Senior Lecturer at the University of Ghana, told the GNA that the\nprogrammes instituted by government was brilliant, but the approach it was\nusing to address graduate unemployment would be problematic in the long term.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He therefore, urged government to expand the\nlocal economy and provide more incentives to the private sector to expand, in\norder to absorb the unemployed graduates and add value to the country\u2019s primary\ncommodities locally, instead of exporting them abroad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He said government should look at innovative\nways of generating enough revenue within since budget support from donors had dwindled\nconsiderably, therefore government should be more aggressive in domestic\nrevenue mobilisation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dr. Kwabena Opuni Frimpong, the General\nSecretary of the Christian Council of Ghana also asked government to come clear\non how it would ensure sustainable funding of its flagship programmes such as\nthe Free SHS, One Constituency, One Million Ghana Cedis and the One District,\nOne Dam, among other promises it made in the 2016 election.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dr Vladimir Antwi-Danso, a researcher and\nexpert on governance issues, asked government to enforce discipline in the\ncountry, adding that, \u201cGhanaians have high expectations and would not take any\nexcuses from the Government\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt is our fervent hope that the government\nwould mobilise resources from both within and outside as well as adding value\nto the country\u2019s primary commodities so that Ghana would work again and create\nthe needed jobs for the teeming unemployed youth and ensure prosperity for\nall\u201d, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
GNA<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"