The National Anthem
God bless our homeland Ghana, And make our nation great
and strong, Bold to defend for ever
The cause of Freedom and of Right; Fill our hearts with true humility, Make us cherish
fearless honesty, And help us to resist oppressors' rule With all our will and might
for evermore.
Hail to thy name, O Ghana, To thee we make our solemn vow: Steadfast to build together
A nation strong in Unity; With our gifts of mind and strength of arm, Whether night
or day, in mist or storm, In every need, whatever the call may be, To serve thee,
O Ghana, now and evermore.
Raise high the flag of Ghana And one with Africa advance; Black Star of hope and
honor To all who thirst for Liberty; Where the banner of Ghana freely flies, May
the way
to freedom truly lie; Arise, arise, O sons of Ghanaland, And under God march
on for evermore! |
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Symbol
of Authority of Parliament.
The design of the Ghana Mace is made up of various Ghanaian traditional symbols.
"THE FLYING EAGLE" - the
State of Ghana,
"KONTONKUROWI", -
common sharing of responsibility
'NYAMEDUA", (stool)
- Presence of God in society,
'HWEMDUA", -
critical examination,
"GYE -NYAME",(except God),
"KUDU-PONO", -
lasting personality,
"MBAADWA", - Presence and effect of feminine power in society,
"DWANIMMEN", - Mainly
Strength
"HYE-WO-NHYE"(Burnt But
Unburnt) - Imperishable
"BI-NKA-BI"(no one bites
another) - Justice
"KUNTUNKANTAN" - Pride
of The State |
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Traditional Government Before The White Man
In
Ghana
every village or town has a ruler who is a chief. Each town or village is made up
of families, lineage, and clan heads. In every town or village, there is particular
family or clan from which chiefs are chosen. We call such a family the "Royal Family"
or "Respectable Family". In matters of traditional government, the country is divided
into states or traditional areas. For example, we have Dagbon state,
Anlo
State
,
Asante
state, the various Ga States, the
Akwapem State
and Nkusukum state. Each area is ruled by a paramount chief "Ya-Na", Gonja "Yabonwura",
the Ewe "Awoamefia" or "Fiaga" or "Togbui", the Akwapem, "Okuapenhene" and the Ga,
"Nii" or "Mantse". In some traditional areas, although the chief rules the area
customarily, the high-priest or the Land Priest is regarded as the owner of the
land. Example, in the Northern and Upper Regions of Ghana, the Land Priest and chiefs
have authority over the lands which come under them. The Ga(s) too have Wulormei(the
high-priests) who also has authority over the land.
Colonial Government Rule Before Independence
One of the agreements reached by the European powers at the Berlin Conference of
1884 to 1885, which set in motion, annexation of territories in Africa, was that
any nation claiming possession of a territory must maintain what was described as
"Effective Occupation" of the area by sending administrators to govern the territory.
These European powers used different systems of colonial administration. At the
head of the colonial administration in Ghana, as in other British colonial territories,
was the governor appointed by and representing the British Crown, and answerable
to the metropolitan government through Secretary of States for the colonies. The
government administered the territory with the advice of two important arms of government,
the executive council and the legislative council. The evolution of these two bodies
was set out in constitutions drawn up from time to time.
Modern Ghana Government & The Constitution After Independence
In 1992, after 11 years of military rule, the Provisional National Defense Council
(PNDC), handed over administration of the country to an elected government with
constitutional rule and a multi-party parliamentary system. This development has
revealed broad support by political parties for continuing economic reforms, placing
greater emphasis on commitment to private sector development. The change of government
has significantly bolstered international interest in
Ghana
.
Governments Since Independence
Ghana
, formerly the Gold
Coast, gained her independence within the Commonwealth and from
Great Britain
.
- 6th March, 1957
Ghana
gained independence under the leadership of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah.
- 1st July, 1960, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah proclaimed
Ghana
a republic and combined the roles of President and Prime Minister. Dr. Nkrumah's
Convention People's Party (CPP) government ousted
- 24th February, 1966 through a military
coup; and the National Liberation Council (NLC) with General Joseph A. Ankrah as
Chairman, took over the administration of the state.
- 30th September, 1969, Dr. Kofi Abrefa
Busia and his Progress Party (PP) after gaining majority vote in a parliamentary
election, took over the leadership of the state.
- 13th January, 1972
Ghana
experienced its second military coup which brought General Kutu Acheampong and the
Supreme Military Council (SMC) into power.
- Parliamentary elections were held in
the same year 24th September, 1979, power was handed over to Dr. Hula Limann and
the People's National Party (PNP) Government.
- Two years later, on 31st December,
1981, there was a revolution which brought back Flight Lieutenant Jerry John Rawlings
to power
The New Constitution was based on the
United States
model and was approved by a national referendum in April 1992. The President appoints
his Vice President and nominates a Council Of 10 Regional Ministers one from each
region and assisted by a regional coordinating council. Multi-Party democracy was
just restored in
Ghana
in May 1991.