Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Nkrumah, however, skilfully kept himself out of the fray and concentrated on building
prestige projects, such as the Akosombo Dam and several universities and hospitals.
But things were starting to unravel. Nkrumah expanded his personal bodyguard into an
entire regiment, while corruption and reckless spending drove the country into serious
debt. Nkrumah, seemingly oblivious to his growing unpopularity, made the fatal mistake
of going on a state visit to China in 1966. While he was away his regime was toppled in
an army coup. Nkrumah died six years later in exile in Guinea.
Dr Kofi Busia headed a civilian government in 1969 but could do nothing to overcome
corruption and debt problems. Colonel Acheampong replaced him in a 1972 coup, but few
things changed under his tenure.
The Rawlings Years
By 1979 Ghana was suffering food shortages and people were out on the streets demon-
strating against the army fat cats. Enter Jerry Rawlings, a good-looking, charismatic, half-
Scottish air-force pilot, who kept cigarettes behind his ear and spoke the language of the
people. Nicknamed 'Junior Jesus', Rawlings captured the public's imagination with his
calls for corrupt military rulers to be confronted and held accountable for Ghana's prob-
lems. The military jailed him for his insubordination, but his fellow junior officers freed
him after they staged an uprising. Rawlings' Armed Forces Revolutionary Council
(AFRC) then handed over power to a civilian government (after a general election) and
started a major 'house cleaning' operation - that is, executing and jailing senior officers.
The new president, Hilla Limann, was uneasy with Rawlings' huge popularity, and later
accused him of trying to subvert constitutional rule. The AFRC toppled him in a coup in
1981, and this time Rawlings stayed in power for the next 15 years.
Although Rawlings never delivered his promised left-wing revolution, he improved the
ailing economy after following the orders of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Dur-
ing part of the 1980s, Ghana enjoyed Africa's highest economic growth rates.
The Democratic Era
By 1992 Rawlings was under worldwide pressure to introduce democracy, so he lifted the
10-year ban on political parties and called a general election. However, the hopelessly di-
vided opposition couldn't get their act together, and Rawlings won the 1992 elections
freely and fairly, with 60% of the vote. Still licking their wounds, the opposition withdrew
from the following month's parliamentary elections, giving Rawlings' newly formed Na-
tional Democratic Congress (NDC) an easy victory. In 1996 he repeated this triumph in
