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Ghana Britain and the Commonwealth
By historical tradition and choice, Ghana's political future
has been bound up with that of Britain and the Commonwealth of
Nations. Indeed, Nkrumah led the way for independent African states
that were former British colonies to join the Commonwealth.
The close bond between Ghana and Britain was evident in 1959
when Queen Elizabeth II, the head of the Commonwealth of Nations,
visited Ghana and received a most friendly reception. At the 1964
Commonwealth Conference, Nkrumah proposed the establishment of a
permanent Commonwealth secretariat, in order, as Nkrumah put it,
"to make the Commonwealth move in tune with the common aspirations
of its members." According to one observer, Nkrumah believed the
Commonwealth was an example of how a free association of
independent states should work. The Commonwealth provided a vehicle
for the transfer of technology and for economic and cultural
cooperation. It also served as a place for developing the most
effective methods for ending colonialism without revolution or
violence and under conditions in which a former colonial territory
could retain a close association with the former imperial power.
Nkrumah again took the lead in forcing South Africa out of the
Commonwealth in 1961. In 1965 Ghana was forced to break diplomatic
relations with Britain in order to support the OAU resolution over
Rhodesia's unilateral declaration of independence and imposition of
a white minority government. Relations were restored the next year,
however, following the overthrown of Nkrumah.
Following the 31st December 1981 Revolution, Ghana lost its
membership in the Commonwealth Parliament Association, which
promotes interchange and understanding among parliamentarians of
member states. Ghana was readmitted to the Association in September
1993, the same year it was also readmitted to the InterParliamentary Union, another Commonwealth institution. With its
readmission to these two bodies, Ghana became an major player in
Commonwealth affairs. In May 1994, Ghana hosted a Commonwealth
conference on local government that attracted participants from
several West African countries. At the end of the year, Ghana
remained the only West African Commonwealth country with an elected
government, the other three members--Nigeria, Sierra Leone, and
Gambia--all being under military rule. As a contribution towards
Ghanaian democracy, the Commonwealth, along with the OAU and the
Carter Center in the United States, provided international observer
teams to monitor Ghana's presidential election in November 1992.
Ghana's relations with Britain continued to be generally good
under the PNDC. British Minister of State for Foreign and
Commonwealth Affairs, Mrs. Lynda Chalker, paid a successful
official visit to Ghana in early 1987 which resulted in enhanced
British aid for Ghana' economic reforms. Since the ERP began in
1983, Britain has given Ghana more than £69 million as balance of
payments support. Ghana has reportedly garnered more aid from
Britain than any African country except Zimbabwe. Britain, along
with other Western countries and international development
agencies, also provided much needed technical, logistical, and
financial support for the implementation of Ghana's governmental
decentralization effort, for the first District Assembly elections
in 1988-89, as well as for the presidential and parliamentary
elections in 1992.
Data as of November 1994
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