加纳领导人认识到政治独立与经济解放密切相关，开始寻求经济独立。尽管面临各种挑战，加纳坚定不移寻找正确的模式
文I 埃德蒙·史密斯 – 阿桑蒂（Edmund Smith-Asante） 加纳《每日写真报》记者 翻译|檀生兰
●初始阶段
●原因何在
●再次求助IMF
●经济独立
●中国支持
加纳位于非洲西部，1957年摆脱殖民统治，是撒哈拉以南第一个获得政治独立的国家。独立以后，加纳领导人认识到政治独立与经济解放密切相关，开始寻求经济独立。独立前夕，加纳首位总统克瓦米·恩克鲁玛明确表示：“新非洲已为独立作战做好准备，我们终究要证明黑人有能力管好自己的事情。”
正如恩克鲁玛博士预测的那样，加纳人民独立后自强不息、艰苦奋斗，但是61年来要做到管理好自己，彻底实现经济解放仍然很困难。从国家发展的角度来说，加纳取得了巨大成就，但是解放程度还远远不够。原因很简单，由于过去61年执政不连续问题和经济发展停滞不前，加纳不得不寻求西方的经济支持。
经济学家认为是加纳与布雷顿森林机构的长期联系导致其经济停滞，尽管过去几十年，加纳比多数西非次区域国家取得的经济成就更为显著。为了摆脱经济停滞，目前加纳承受1425亿赛地的巨额债务负担，预计2018年年底贷款额将达到1500亿赛地，这足以改善加纳经济局面，阿库福-阿多领导的政府宣布“加纳要超越援助”，对援助实行零容忍的政策。此外，加纳正在大力推行 “发展种植业解决粮食和就业问题”、“一区一厂”、“一村一坝”等政策，目的是实现加纳粮食自给自足，采取工业化农业生产模式。
初始阶段
有趣的是这和加纳成立之初的发展道路如出一撤，当时恩克鲁玛博士启动了大规模的工业基础设施建设，包括阿克桑布水力发电所、特马高速公路，以及全国各地的工业飞地。
由于发展迅速，1960年世界银行预测加纳20年后将成为世界主要经济体之一，同时认为1965年脱离马来西亚独立的新加坡将走向灭亡。
然而独立多年后，加纳虽然资源丰富经济发展仍然不稳定，2000到2017年间，GDP年均增速6.94%，过去20年通货膨胀率达到16.81%，同时大批人员失业，能源领域经验不足，每年住房缺口为170万套。
根据国际货币基金组织（IMF）2018年4月发布的《世界经济展望》报告，新加坡现在的GDP水平超过加纳的2000%（20倍），人均GDP 93,905.50美元，居世界第四位，相比之下加纳人均GDP不足挂齿，仅为4,729.49美元，排在世界第139位。
原因何在
如上所述，加纳的不幸始于第一任总统被推翻之后。新上台的军政府由安克拉领导，申请IMF和美国政府贷款，深陷外债困局。债务危机不断恶化，直到1979年6月4日，杰瑞·约翰·罗林斯空军上尉发动政变推翻弗雷德里克·威廉·夸西·阿库福军人政府，摆脱对IMF的依赖。
为了振兴垂死经济，当时的加纳政府实行紧缩政策，推行国有农场和产业的私有化，出台大学生助学贷款方案，对国家法定货币赛地进行贬值，取消价格管制，为满足国内消费大量耕种主食产品。结果导致失业、外债和利息、赛地币的贬值，这恰好给军事政变提供了一个良好的借口，最后只能由老百姓来承担经济困境的苦果。
伊格内修斯·库图·阿昌庞政府切断了与美国的主要往来，认为IMF和其他超级大国不利于加纳的经济独立。他还努力寻求政府独立，着力解决现实问题，拒绝外国债务，推出“自食其力行动”，重新确定赛地的币值。阿昌庞上将再次实施了价格管制，发放进口许可证，增加资金供应，结果引起腐败、通货膨胀、走私等问题。即便是加纳第三共和国唯一总统希拉·利曼博士也无力拯救这个国家，他减少价格控制、重新确立捐赠国和捐赠者的可信度，结果却是更严重的通货膨胀、支付不平衡和腐败问题。
利曼总统推翻罗林斯以后再次尝试恢复经济信心，走社会主义发展道路（就连国有报纸都改名为《人民每日画报》），控制价格、定量供应生活必需品，并由“人民防御委员会”负责分发。他还成立了“工人防御委员会”，强有力地控制价格和走私行为，没收50赛地货币，但也没产生什么效果。
由于西方对加纳实施禁运，通胀、排队领取生活必需品、药物、食品、交通设施紧缺，饥饿、营养不良变得司空见惯。
再次求助IMF
1983-2000的17年内，加纳为复苏垂死经济做出的所有努力均以失败告终，被迫求助IMF，采取更加严厉的各种措施，其中包括经济恢复计划、自由市场体制、重组计划要求国企工人下岗、由学生承担大部分学费、病人支付大部分医疗费用。同时，加纳实行证券交易和增值税，对主要国有产业私有化，促进出口，实施缓解加纳人民压力的“减少调整的社会成本行动计划”等等。
但是，通胀问题仍未得到解决，伴随着大规模失业、学校和卫生部门的关闭，利率上升将近一半，东西能找到但却买不起。可以说这个时期的加纳又回到了1992年的民主道路，加纳经济在第四共和国第一位总统罗林斯的领导下趋向好转，第二位总统约翰·阿吉耶库姆·库福尔2000年自上台日起就背上沉重债务，这主要是由于过于依赖进口，工业化程度过低导致。
库福尔政府采取一系列措施开放私营领域，注重企业开放，走自由市场经济道路。尽管外国直接投资不断增加，但工业化进程缓慢。根据“总统特别倡议”，加纳积极建厂，但没有起色，好在服务行业因金融和电信行业的外国资本涌入得到改善。
2009年7月，约翰埃文斯阿塔米尔斯成为加纳第四共和国的第三位总统，他上台后仍然维持前任的政策，其领导的政府被指责破坏了库福尔政府的成就，不过他2012年在任期内去世。他的副手约翰德拉马尼马哈马接替总统职务，2012年12月赢得选举，再次寻求IMF的帮助。马哈马政府也尝试发展工业化，振兴阿严苏（Ayensu）淀粉厂和科曼达（Komenda）蔗糖厂，但由于缺乏原材料和其它管理问题全部倒闭。
经济独立
尽管经济发展面临各种挑战，加纳坚定不移寻找正确的模式。为了改善经济条件，过去几年与西方和中国这样的东方国家纷纷建立了合作伙伴关系。
2017年3月7日，加纳副总统Mahamudu Bawumia 博士在“非洲侨胞同乡会”开幕式发表演讲，呼吁非洲向日本和中国等国家学习，利用资源和能源优势发展经济。他说：“看看日本和中国，他们不仅改变观念，还大力发展经济，这一点不可否认。”之后，受中国政府邀请，Bawumia博士于2017年6月率重量级代表团对中国开始为期四天的官方访问，增进两国友谊，改善经济关系。
访问结束后，双方签署了价值190亿美元的订单，囊括加纳经济各领域，包括加纳政府和中国水电集团签署了备忘录，落实加纳价值40亿美元的一系列重大国家项目。
还有一些其它项目，包括对加纳政府“一区一厂”计划资助价值20亿美元的设备，与中铁国际集团签署了备忘录，提供100亿美元用于采矿业、工业和铁路领域的大规模基础设施发展计划，拨款1亿元用于基础设施建设和采购500辆警车。不仅如此，中国还为加纳军队提供5千万元援助、四艘海军巡逻艇，资助修建90座桥梁。
Bawumia博士在北京为其举行的欢迎招待会上表示：“从今以后，我的副总统办公室将负责管理中加经济关系，因为政治高层的高效决策将有助于两国经济投资关系的发展，也借此表明我们对加强双边合作的诚意。”他还敦促中国支持中国商业银行在加纳设立分行，促进双方贸易和金融关系的发展。时任中国副主席的李源潮表示中国愿意向加纳传授知识技术，帮助其实施阿库福-阿多政府的转型计划。他还说：“特别是中国将致力于加深双边贸易和投资合作，提高加纳自然资源的价值。”
中国支持
加纳是第一个与中国建立外交关系的撒哈拉以南非洲国家，几十年来双边关系稳健发展。中国目前是加纳最大的贸易伙伴，也是加纳外国直接投资的主要来源国之一。中国资助进行的大量建设项目推动了加纳的经济社会发展。2015年，中加贸易额上升至66亿美元，比上年增加18.2%，使加纳在中国54个非洲贸易伙伴中排名第六。同年，中国对加直接投资1.74亿美元，累计总额为13亿美元，使加纳成为第四大吸引外资的非洲国家。2016年，中加经贸合作论坛在阿克拉召开。根据论坛简报，2015年新签项目合同达到12.86亿美元，加纳在非洲排名14位，同年中加交易额达到14.06亿美元。
上述项目建设包括Sunon Asogli发电站，非洲世界航空公司，Sentuo钢铁厂等等，为当地人口创造了诸多就业机会，促进次地区的互联互通，有助于解决当地电力供应不足问题。除此之外，还有华为公司承接的加纳电子政府平台项目，葛洲坝集团承接的凯鹏（Kpong）供水扩建项目，中国石化承接的Atuabo天然气处理工程，以及湖南建设集团承接的北方电气化工程。根据论坛简报，中国的加纳留学生2016年达到3000人，属非洲最多。据说中国这一年还为加纳培训了820多名官员和技术人员。 2017年，中国对加纳出口额为51.7亿美元，对加投资合计1.23亿美元。
从2017年3月到2018年4月，中国驻加大使孙宝红结束四年任期。他说中国仍然是加纳最大贸易伙伴和主要投资来源国，双边贸易额从2014年的56亿美元升至2017年的66.8亿美元，加纳对华出口达到18.5亿美元，历史最高水平。中国在加注册投资项目从2014年的691个增加至2017年年底的790个，涉及制造业、采矿业、能源、农业和服务业。
2018年4月6日星期五，中华人民共和国对加纳共和国给予了最大支持，双方签署协议规定中国将向加纳拨款6600亿美元，用于建设渔港大楼以及开展高校建设的经济技术合作。孙大使代表中国签署协议，并表示这份双边协议有望开启双方更加有效的合作，中国支持理工大学的升级，计划在加纳西部的Sefwi Wiawso创办可可粉加工生产公司，推动加纳的工业化建设。（编辑：杨海霞）
英文版：
Ghana’s Ride Towards Economic Independence
By Edmund Smith-Asante, Reporter of Daily Graphic in Ghana
Ghana, located in the western part of Africa, was the first country south of the Sahara to gain political independence from its colonisers in 1957.
Right at birth as a nation, the leadership of the country started pursuing economic independence as it found that political independence was inextricably linked to economic emancipation.
So on the eve of independence at the Old Polo Grounds in Accra, Ghana’s first President, Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah, stated unequivocally in his speech that “That new African is ready to fight his own battles and show that after all, the black man is capable of managing his own affairs.”
As rightly predicted by Dr Nkrumah Ghana has fought many battles since independence but managing its own affairs to get the right mix for economic emancipation has still been elusive 61 years on.
Despite the numerous successes that Ghana has chalked up as a country, it is yet to gain the total liberation that it seeks. The reason is not farfetched – As a result of the interruptions in governance it has experienced in its 61-year history, economic growth has also stagnated along the line so that Ghana has had to go back to the West to seek support to run its economy.
Economists have argued that Ghana’s continuous association with the Breton Woods institutions is what has resulted in its stagnated growth, although in the past few decades the country has made more economic progress than most of the countries in the West Africa sub region.
It is to free the country from its suffocation under a huge debt burden which currently stands at GH¢142.5 billion and is predicted to hit GH¢150 by the end of 2018, make it become self sufficient and pick up the economic growth momentum, that the current Akufo-Addo-led government has proclaimed a “Ghana Beyond Aid” mantra and indeed is pursuing a policy of zero tolerance for aid.
Other policies that are being pursued rigorously include “Planting for Food and Jobs”, “One District, One Factory” and “One Village, One Dam”. These are meant to make the country self sufficient in food production and also put it in an industrialisation mode.
In the beginning
Interestingly that is the same path Ghana chose as a new nation when Dr Nkrumah started off with massive industrial and infrastructural development including construction of the Akosombo Hydro Electric Power Dam, the Tema Motorway and industrial enclaves in all the regions.
Due to the fast pace of development then, the World Bank in 1960 predicted that Ghana would become a first-class economy in two decades, while Singapore which separated from Malaysia in 1965, was predicted to go extinct.
Years on after independence, however, Ghana with all its resources is still grappling with an unstable economy, an average GDP growth rate of 6.94 per cent from 2000 to 2017, inflation rate of 16.81 per cent in the past two decades, huge unemployment, a fledgling energy sector, and a housing deficit of 1.7 million houses a year.
On the other hand Singapore currently has a GDP about 2000 per cent higher than that of Ghana's. Singapore's GDP Per Capita currently stands at US$93,905.50, the fourth in the world, whereas Ghana's GDP Per Capita is a paltry US$ 4,729.49, 139th in the world, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) World Economic Outlook (WEO) Database of April 2018.
How it happened
As already stated Ghana’s woes begun after the overthrow of its first President. The new General Ankrah-led government went for loans from the IMF as well as the United States government and reeled from foreign debt. The crisis worsened until the June 4, 1979 military coup d’état led by Flt. Lt. Jerry John Rawlings toppled the General F. W. K. Akuffo regime and kicked out the IMF from Ghana.
In a bid to resuscitate the dying Ghanaian economy the government of the day resorted to austere measures such as the privatisation of state farms and industries, introduction of a university students’ loan scheme, devaluation of the country’s currency – the cedi, the elimination of price controls and an emphasis on staples for domestic consumption.
These resulted in unemployment, foreign debts and servicing, the fall of the cedi and a good excuse for military coups as a result of economic hardships faced by the people.
It was General Ignatius Kutu Acheampong’s government that cut major ties with the U.S, the IMF and other superpowers who were seen as drawbacks to Ghana's economic independence. He also tried to build a self- reliant government that concentrated on solving its problems in the most practical ways by rejecting foreign debts, introducing “Operation feed yourself”, and revaluing the cedi.
Gen. Acheampong re-introduced price controls, brought in import licensing and increased money supply, which in turn gave birth to corruption, inflation and smuggling among others.
Not even attempts by Ghana’s only President in its Third Republic, Dr. Hilla Limann to reduce price controls and re-establish credibility with donors and donor countries could save the country. Rather, inflation, balance of payment problems and corruption persisted.
After President Limann’s overthrow Rawlings tried again to restore economic confidence by introducing a socialist path to development (even the state-owned newspaper was renamed the People’s Daily Graphic), price controls, rationing of essential commodities and putting People’s Defence Committees (PDCs) in charge of distribution.
He also introduced Workers’ Defence Committees (WDC), forcefully controlled prices and smuggling and confiscated 50 cedi notes but they all amounted to nothing.
Instead an embargo was placed on Ghana by the West, while inflation, queuing for basic necessities, the lack of medicine, food, transportation, hunger and malnourishment became the order of the day.
Back to IMF
Ghana was constrained to go back to the IMF in the next seventeen years (1983 – 2000) after all attempts to revive the dying economy failed and was forced to take several harsh measures such as an economic recovery programme, operating a free market system, layoff of public workers under a structural adjustment programme (SAP), making students bear more of the cost of tuition and also making patients bear more of the cost of medical bills in a cash and carry system.
It was during the same period that the stock exchange and Value Added Tax (VAT) were introduced, more state industries were privatised, exports were boosted and a Programme of Action to Mitigate the Social Cost of Adjustment (PAMSCAD) was introduced to give Ghanaians a respite.
During the period, however, inflation still persisted, as well as massive unemployment, the breakdown of schools and healthcare, interest rate rose close to 50 per cent and goods were available but not affordable.
While it could be said that when Ghana went back to the democratic path in 1992 the Ghanaian economy got better under the first President of the Fourth Republic, Flt. Lt. Rawlings, the second President, John Agyekum Kufuor, had to start off in 2000 with a heavy debt burden largely brought about by import- dependency and minimal industrialisation.
Albeit the Kufuor administration took steps to open up the economy to the private sector and laid emphasis on the opening of businesses, and a free market economy.
While foreign direct investment increased, not much improvement occurred in industrialisation. Although attempts to set up factories under the President's Special Initiatives (PSIs) failed the services sector improved with the influx of foreign investors in the financial and telecom industry.
There was not much change when Ghana’s third President in the Fourth Republic, Professor John Evans Atta Mills on January 7, 2009 took over the reins of government. His government was accused of undoing some of the achievements of the Kufuor administration but he died while in office in July 2012.
His Vice, John Dramani Mahama who became President in his stead went on to win the next election in December 2012 and again went to the IMF.
Mahama’s government also tried to industrialise the country by reviving the defunct Ayensu Starch and Komenda Sugar factories but they all collapsed due to the absence of raw materials and other managerial issues.
Economic independence
All the challenges of economic development notwithstanding, Ghana has not relented in its efforts to land the right formula and over the past years has been courting partnerships with Western and Eastern countries such as China to improve economic conditions.
Indeed speaking at the opening ceremony of the African Diaspora Homecoming Conference on March 7, 2017, Ghana’s Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia called on Africa to look at countries such as Japan and China which have evolved with economic development by combining resources and energies.
“You look at how perceptions in Japan and China have evolved and I think they have also evolved with economic development and you cannot deny that,” he stated at the conference.
Dr. Bawumia later in June, 2017 led a powerful government delegation to China on a four-day official visit at the invitation of the Chinese government to cement ties and also improve economic relations between the two countries.
As a result of the visit multiple deals worth US$19 billion were struck for the various sectors of the Ghanaian economy. These included a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the government of Ghana and Chinese state-owned Sinohydro Corporation Limited, an energy firm, for the execution of a number of key projects worth US$4 billion across the country.
Others were a funding facility worth $2 billion for the Ghana government’s ‘One District One Factory’ initiative, an MoU with the China Railway International Group Limited for US$10 billion to support the components of a massive infrastructure development programme spanning the mining, industrial and railway fields, and a grant of about 100 million RMB for infrastructure development and for the acquisition of about 500 vehicles for the police.
About 50 million RMB will also go to the Ghana Armed Forces, four patrol boats to the Ghana Navy, while the construction of 90 bridges will also be funded across the country.
Speaking at a state reception in Beijing held in his honour Dr Bawumia said “The office of the Vice President, my office, will henceforth be in charge of managing Ghana-China economic relations. This will allow for quick decisions at very high political levels to facilitate economic and investment relations between our two countries. This is a practical demonstration of the seriousness that we attach to our cooperation.”
He also urged China to support the opening of a Chinese commercial bank in Ghana to facilitate trade and deepen financial relations between the two countries.
For his part, then Vice President of China, Mr Li Yuanchao, said China was ready to pass on knowledge, expertise and assistance to Ghana to facilitate the transformation agenda of the President Akufo-Addo government.
“In particular, China is committed to deeper trade and investment cooperation, as well as value addition to Ghana’s natural resources,” he said.
Chinese support
Ghana was among the first group of Sub-Saharan African countries that established diplomatic relations with China, and the two countries have enjoyed decades of strong ties and bilateral relations since then.
China is currently Ghana’s largest trading partner and is one of the main sources of foreign direct investment in Ghana, having financed and carried out a number of projects that have boosted the socio-economic growth of Ghana.
Trade between Ghana and China rose to $ 6.6 billion in 2015, representing an 18.2 per cent year- on- year increase and, ranking Ghana the sixth amongst China’s 54 African trading partners.
In the same year, China made direct investments of US$174 million to Ghana, with an over-all accumulated amount of US$1.3 billion, ranking it fourth among African countries.
According to a brief on a China-Ghana Economic and Trade Cooperation Forum held in Accra in June 2016, newly signed projects in 2015 reached US$1.286 billion, ranking Ghana 14th among African countries, with China achieving US$1.406 billion worth of business turn over the same year.
The businesses include the Sunon Asogli Power Plant, Africa World Airline and the Sentuo Steel factory that have provided more job opportunities for local people, promoted the interconnection of the sub-region, and helped to resolve electricity power shortage.
Others are the Ghana E-Government Platform undertaken by Huawei Company, the Kpong Water Supply Expansion Project, which was built by the Gezhouba Group, the Atuabo Gas Processing Project undertaken by SINOPEC and the Northern Electrification Project built by the Hunan Construction Group.
According to the brief, the number of Ghanaian students studying in China reached 3,000 in 2016, which was the highest in Africa. It said China also trained more than 820 officials and technical staff for Ghana the same year.
Meanwhile China’s exports to Ghana reached about $5.17 billion in 2017 with its investments in Ghana totaling US $123 million.
After a four-year successful duty tour of Ghana from March 27, 2014 to April 16, 2018, the Chinese Ambassador to Ghana, Ms Sun Baohong said over the past four years, China had remained the largest trading partner and main source of investment for Ghana and that bilateral trade volume had risen from US$5.6 billion in 2014 to US$6.68 billion in 2017 with Ghana’s export to China reaching a historical high of US$1.85 billion.
China’s registered investment projects in Ghana, she said, had risen from 691 in 2014 to 790 by the end of 2017, covering manufacturing, mining, energy, agriculture and the service industry.
The latest support from the People’s Republic of China to the Republic of Ghana was on Friday, April 6, 2018 when the two signed agreements for a grant totaling US$ 66 million for the construction of a fishing port complex and an Economic and Technical Cooperation for the development of a university among others.
Ms Sun who signed for China said the bilateral agreement is expected to lead to more fruitful cooperation between the two countries and that China’s support to upgrade polytechnic universities and a plan to establish a cocoa processing company in Sefwi Wiawso in the Western Region of Ghana was all to support Ghana’s industrialisation drive.