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General Information
Conference Centre in Accra
protectors of the country and hold a blue shield. This
one is divided into four parts by St. George’s Cross,
which contains a Golden Lion indicating Ghana’s
close relationship to the Commonwealth and to the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ire-
land, Ghana’s then colonial ruler.
The linguists’ staff crossed with the sword on the top
left and the heraldic castle on the top right represent
the local administration and the national government
respectively. On the bottom, the cocoa tree repre-
sents the agricultural wealth of the country, while the
mine shaft stands for its mineral richness.
The motto “Freedom and Justice” under the shield
appears as the national aspirations.
Government Structure
Ghana’s government is a multiparty parliamentary
democracy which constitution divides powers be-
tween among a President, Parliament, Cabinet,
Council of State, and an independent judiciary. The
president is elected through suffrage for a four-year
term that can be renewed a maximum of two times.
President John Evans Atta Mills explains that the
government’s priority is creating a “Better Ghana
through a transformed and prosperous nation pro-
viding opportunities for a better life for all Ghana-
ians.”
Under this policy, Dr. Kwabena Duffuor,
Minister of Finance and Economy, names the ma-
jor objective of the economic 2010 fiscal year to be
growth and stability. He particularly underlines the
importance of “stabilizing the economy and prevent-
ing run-away inflation” and in that way, “ensure eq-
uity in the distribution of the nation’s wealth and not
concentrate wealth in the hands of a few.” Dr. Duffuor
states three tools to develop growth and stability:
• Sustenance of the macroeconomic stability and
fiscal discipline achieved in 2009;
• Positioning the country for a sustained growth
through the modernization of agriculture, provision
of key infrastructure development, oil and gas
projects, private sector development, ICT;
• Delivery of social programs targeted at poverty
reduction.
In his “Budget Statement and Economic Policy for
Fiscal Year 2010,” the Minister of Finance and Eco-
nomic points out a number of sectors that are to be
carefully managed.
Oil and Gas Industry
The government works to ensure the long-length ex-
ploitation of these natural resources, so that it would
accelerate the growth of manufacturing and other
sectors that have been left out until now, and in that
way contribute to a rapid and sustainable growth of
the economy.
Modernizing Agriculture
The main objective is to increase productivity, im-
prove food security and reduce foreign food imports,
by boosting the crops of pineapple, mangos, soya
beans, etc. through larger public and private com-
mercial farming.
Cocoa Processing
The government is determined to implement the co-
coa processing program CALF cocoa which would
contribute to the economic growth of the country.
Private Sector Development
Policy programs, incentives and legal and social
framework are to be developed as well as appropri-
ate training and competence. The focus will particu-
larly be on small and medium enterprises.