i Parkia biglobosa - School of Forest Resources & Environmental ...

government known as the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC). This was the
eighth government since the fall of Nkrumah fifteen years earlier (Naylor 2000). J.J.
Rawlings continued to serve as head of state for over twenty years. A new constitution,
restoring multiparty politics, was approved in 1992. J.J. Rawlings was elected president
both in the 1992 and 1996 elections. He was limited to two terms as president under the
constitution and in the 2000 elections John Agyekum Kufuor representing the New
Patriotic Party was elected president (CIA World Factbook 2002).
Economy
At the time of independence, Ghana’s national accounts were substantial and the
economy was strong from a boom in cocoa and mineral exports. Nkrumah envisioned a
modern industrial Ghana. He began an aggressive modernization movement in the 1960s
by nationalizing foreign owned businesses, building factories, and made attempts to
improve agriculture through collectives and mechanization. One successful venture
during Nkrumah’s term as president was the building of Akosambo dam, completed in
1964. Akosambo dam created the world’s largest artificial lake as well as the first large-
scale hydroelectric venture that could provide all of Ghana with electricity. However,
other ventures were not as successful.
The push for modernization in fact produced rampant corruption and an economic
crisis. Political motivation instead of sound economic planning used up precious capital
without viable production, causing many enterprises to fail. One of these failed attempts
is a meat-processing factory built in the Upper East Region near Bolgatanga. The local
suppliers of livestock, individual farmers and small cooperatives, could not meet the
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