Author: Nicolas Cook
Site of the publication: CRS
Type of the publication : Report
Date of the publication : April 2023
Introduction
U.S.-Ghana relations have historically been warm, based on shared democratic ideals and close people-to-people ties. There is a sizable Ghanaian-American diaspora community in the United States, and several thousand African Americans live in Ghana; the Akufo-Addo administration has sought to attract heritage tourism and migration to the country by Black Americans. Congress funds a diverse range of U.S. assistance programs in the country, with activities to improve health outcomes, spur agricultural development, enhance public service delivery, curb child labor in the cocoa industry, and strengthen Ghana’s security services.
Countering violent extremism (CVE) is a growing focus of bilateral ties and U.S. aid, amid a southward expansion of Islamist extremist violence from West Africa’s Sahel region. In June 2022, the Biden Administration designated Ghana as a priority country under the Global Fragility Act (GFA, Title V of Div. J, P.L. 116-94) as part of a “Coastal West Africa” sub-region that also includes Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, and Togo. Several Members had previously voiced concern over the expanding threat of extremism in coastal West Africa and expressed support for the sub-region’s prioritization under GFA.
Human rights issues in Ghana and growing U.S.-Ghanaian cultural engagement may also attract enhanced congressional consideration and shape bilateral ties. Some Members have expressed concern over a draft law under consideration by Ghana’s parliament that would impose severe penalties on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex (LGBTQI+) individuals, and over attacks on journalists and press freedom in the country.3 On the other hand, Ghana’s efforts to attract heritage tourism and migration by Black Americans, premised in part on diasporic legacies of the transatlantic slave trade, may enable closer bilateral ties and offer opportunities for engagement by Members and their constituents. A new Congressional Ghana Caucus, launched in late 2022, reflects increased congressional attention on issues in the bilateral relationship.
The Akufo-Addo Administration (2017-Present)
President Akufo-Addo took office in 2017 and began a second term in January 2021.11 He has identified “structural transformation to value added activities,” infrastructure investment, education, and improving access to electricity and water as among his top priorities.
His administration has embarked on a series of flagship development initiatives, including the Free Senior High School program, which publicly funds education past ninth grade; One District, One Factory, to establish factories in each of Ghana’s 275 districts; and Agenda 111, to build or rehabilitate 111 health facilities across the country. In public remarks and strategy documents, President Akufo-Addo has placed an emphasis on realizing a “Ghana Beyond Aid”, entailing structural economic reforms and a “change in mindset and attitudes” aimed at reducing Ghana’s reliance on donor assistance.
Public discontent with economic hardship and alleged poor governance has spurred protests and labor unrest. In 2021, thousands protested in Accra over poor living conditions, corruption, power and water shortages, and unemployment. An 2022 survey by Afrobarometer, a nongovernmental polling organization based in Accra, found that nearly 9 in 10 Ghanaians assessed that the country was heading in the wrong direction, and that a large majority stated that the government was performing poorly in economic affairs. Anger over the cost of living prompted further protests in June and November 2022. How the government continues to manage dissatisfaction with a struggling economy, while navigating parliamentary gridlock, may shape the NPP’s fortunes in the next presidential and parliamentary elections, due in 2024.
Governance and Human Rights Issues
Official corruption has nonetheless been a chronic problem, and a source of public discontent and target of investigative reporting. Several high-level officials have been implicated in corrupt practices. In late 2022, for instance, President Akufo-Addo fired his deputy finance minister after an undercover journalist filmed him soliciting bribes from investors. Extortion and bribe-taking by police and other justice sector officials is reportedly pervasive; according to public opinion surveys, nearly three in five Ghanaians believe “most” or “all” police are corrupt.
His administration has embarked on a series of flagship development initiatives, including the Free Senior High School program, which publicly funds education past ninth grade; One District, One Factory, to establish factories in each of Ghana’s 275 districts; and Agenda 111, to build or rehabilitate 111 health facilities across the country. In public remarks and strategy documents, President Akufo-Addo has placed an emphasis on realizing a “Ghana Beyond Aid”, entailing structural economic reforms and a “change in mindset and attitudes” aimed at reducing Ghana’s reliance on donor assistance
Attacks on journalists and press freedom have become increasingly prevalent in Ghana, which fell 30 places between the 2021 and 2022 editions of Reporters Without Borders’ Press Freedom Index, to 60 out of 180 countries. The State Department has documented “isolated attacks on and harassment and arrests of journalists by members of security forces” as well as violence toward media personnel by political party supporters and unknown assailants. Some politicians have threatened and harassed journalists, including those who report on corruption and other sensitive topics. In a prominent example, in 2019, assailants killed investigative journalist Ahmed HusseinSuale; prior to the killing, an NPP Member of Parliament publicized Hussein-Suale’s name, called for his attack, and offered to pay for “whatever happens.” The killing remains unsolved.
Child labor in the Ghanaian and Ivorian cocoa sectors has been an enduring problem and area of congressional engagement. The practice primarily involves the employment of children on farms owned by relatives, often under hazardous working conditions. Forced child labor, in which children are made to work by someone other than a relative, also occurs, but to a much more limited extent.
Security Issues
Ghana has earned a reputation as an island of stability in a sub-region in which multiple countries have faced military coups, internal conflict, and rising Islamist violent extremism. Ghana has never experienced a civil war, and it ranks among the top ten contributors of military and police personnel to U.N. peacekeeping missions. In the 2022 Global Peace Index, an assessment of countries’ peacefulness based on measures of conflict, social harmony, and defense expenditures and capabilities, Ghana ranked 40th globally and 2nd in sub-Saharan Africa, behind Mauritius.
Official corruption has nonetheless been a chronic problem, and a source of public discontent and target of investigative reporting. Several high-level officials have been implicated in corrupt practices. In late 2022, for instance, President Akufo-Addo fired his deputy finance minister after an undercover journalist filmed him soliciting bribes from investors. Extortion and bribe-taking by police and other justice sector officials is reportedly pervasive; according to public opinion surveys, nearly three in five Ghanaians believe “most” or “all” police are corrupt
Ghana has not confirmed an extremist attack on its soil to date, but Ghanaian authorities have voiced concern over the southward expansion of Islamist extremist activity from Burkina Faso and the wider Sahel region. Burkina Faso-based armed groups have launched attacks in neighboring Côte d’Ivoire and Togo, and in Benin. In February 2023, unknown actors attempted to bomb a bridge in Bawku, near the Burkina Faso border, and in March 2023, gunmen killed one immigration officer and injured two others in Bawku.
Ghanaian security authorities attributed the incidents to criminals, without explicitly linking them to extremist organizations; in March 2023, President Akufo-Addo stated that he “did not have any information” confirming the presence of Al Qaeda in Ghana, but that it was possible that cells are operating clandestinely in the country.
The Gulf of Guinea, to Ghana’s south, ranks among the world’s most insecure waters for piracy and other forms of maritime criminality, such as narcotics trafficking. The State Department reports that “Ghana is a transit point for illicit drugs trafficked from Asia and South America to other African nations, Europe, and to a lesser extent the United States.”