Ghana History 6 - Benefited a lot
Chen Qiping then talked about this history, as if he was a witness to history:
Since taking office, Rawlings has continuously adjusted his domestic and foreign policies, summing up and drawing lessons from his first assumption of power. In the first year or two of his administration, the www.biquge.info was full of difficulties. Due to the accumulated shortcomings left over from the previous governments of Ghana, although Rawlings has been resolute and resolute since taking office, it is by no means possible to fundamentally eradicate the accumulated evils and revive the economy overnight. Unable to revive Ghana's deteriorating economy in a short period of time due to high levels of corruption and bribery, some members of the military, government officials, intellectuals, and university students have taken a stance against the military regime. On November 23, 1982, February 27, 1983, and June 19, 1983, Rollins foiled three attempted coups to overthrow the military junta. The February coup attempt of 1983 was behind the involvement of the Reagan administration, the CIA, and the U.S. Embassy in Ghana (the Reagan administration had consistently opposed the radical African nationalist Rawlings regime, which considered Ghana to be a pro-East African "progressive state").
Rollins pursued a policy of national reconciliation at home, and in 1983 issued an amnesty, freeing former President Liman and other dignitaries of the former regime; Recruit people from all walks of life to participate in and discuss politics, and set up a consultative committee composed of chiefs, well-known figures in society, and intellectuals. put an end to tribal strife, strengthen national unity, actively carry out political reforms with the main objective of making the country's political life clear, extensively establish people's defence committees and workers' defence committees, and reorganize them into defence revolutionary committees under the leadership of local governors at all levels according to the needs of the development of the situation, stipulating that their main tasks are to educate, mobilize and organize the people to develop production; At the beginning of that year, for the first time, a free vote of voters was used to establish a prefectural assembly with legislative, decision-making and executive powers. At the same time, it is necessary to rectify the internal situation, crack down on corrupt officials and lawless businessmen, and clear the way for the adjustment of economic policies.
After 1983, Rawlings reversed his original radical leftist line and adopted a conservative economic policy. With the support of the international financial institutions, a three-year economic recovery plan was launched in April 1983, gradually shifting the focus of economic activities from market-based to production-oriented. large-scale cuts in government spending, control of imports and fiscal spending; removal of subsidies and price controls to reduce inflation; Formulate an investment law to include tourism as an investment target to attract foreign investment; In order to obtain international aid, the currency Seid was devalued several times. We should vigorously grasp agriculture, increase input, encourage government officials and workers of industrial and commercial enterprises to participate in production, and make every effort to restore and develop the production of grain, cocoa, mineral products, and timber, and encourage exports. Attaching importance to and supporting small industries that can make full use of the country's raw materials has reversed the trend of economic regression for more than a decade.
In 1984, Ghana's GDP growth rate soared from negative to 5.5 per cent, the fiscal deficit fell from 4.4 per cent in 1982 to 2.2 per cent, and the inflation inflation rate fell to 30 per cent from 123 per cent. Exports of cocoa and timber, Ghana's traditional exports, are also on the rise. Thousands of displaced refugees are returning home.
In the course of reform, attention should be paid to increasing the income of the urban and rural people to ensure the smooth progress of the reform. In 1987, the medium-term development plan was implemented to carry out structural adjustment on the basis of emphasizing social benefits. Comprehensively rectify state-owned enterprises, reorganize or sell those that have been losing money for a long time into joint ventures and private enterprises, and implement the operating contract system for those state-owned enterprises that have been retained; the establishment of the National Bureau of Small Industries to provide loans and technical assistance to support small and medium-sized private enterprises; Open the foreign exchange market, introduce free foreign exchange trading, and crack down on foreign exchange black market trading; abolish the import and export licensing system and implement trade liberalization; Multilateral and bilateral loans were used to rehabilitate infrastructure such as roads, railways and ports. In 1988, the "Action Plan for Mitigating the Adverse Effects of Structural Adjustment on Society" was put forward to help peasants and semi-unemployed people solve their practical living difficulties.
Rollins values education, culture, and health care. In 1988, the reform of the education system was introduced, the length of school was shortened, and basic education was strengthened. The Government has proposed the "Universal Compulsory Basic Education Plan" to make compulsory basic education available to every school-age child by 2005, mainly funded by government grants and foreign aid from the United States and Canada. In 1996, the first phase of compulsory education and universal basic education was introduced. 512 dormitories for faculty and staff and 81 teaching areas have been built. Since 2000, the second phase of the plan has been implemented, with 688 staff dormitories and 69 teaching areas, as well as 2,000 classrooms renovated. The enrolment rate in primary education is 81.1 per cent and in secondary education 39 per cent. The current school system: 6 years of primary school, 3 years of junior high school (the above two stages are compulsory), 3 years of high school (or 3~4 years of secondary technical school), and 2~4 years of university. There are six important universities with a total of about 40,000 students, among which the University of Ghana, Kumasian Krumah University of Technology and Cape Coast University are the more famous. There are also 38 teacher training colleges and 10 local technical colleges. There are 12,225 primary schools, more than 6,000 junior high schools and 474 high schools in the country. In 2002, the illiteracy rate among the population over the age of 15 was 18 per cent for men and 34 per cent for women.
Rawlings' free-market measures soon allowed Ghana's economy to recover, and by the early 90s, Ghana had the highest national economic growth rate among African countries. Ghana's economy has maintained a momentum of sustained growth and political stability, and has been hailed as a "model" for economic restructuring in African countries, and in 1994, the United Nations abolished the title of Ghana's least developed country. Rawlings was also hailed by the people of Ghana as "the Moses of disaster relief."
Rawlings pursued an active foreign policy of neutrality and non-alignment. Promote diplomatic pluralism and seek to establish and develop friendly relations with all countries that respect Ghana's sovereignty, independence and interests. advocating international disarmament and safeguarding world peace; It calls for the establishment of a new international economic order. He stressed the solidarity, cooperation, good-neighborliness and friendship of African countries, and opposed the interference of major powers in African affairs. support for the struggle of the people of Southern Africa against racist regimes and for liberation; Focus on improving relations with neighbouring countries in West Africa. In February 1985, he was elected top leader of the Liberation Committee of the Organization of African Unity.
At the end of the 80s of the 20th century, the drastic changes in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe and political pluralism hit the African continent, and Western countries and international financial institutions linked aid with political reform and human rights, forcing African countries to restructure and turn around. In 1991, Rawlings assessed the situation and decided to end military rule and reform the system. Rawlings himself was not in favor of the multi-party system, and he advocated the establishment of a non-partisan and popular system of clear lords in light of national conditions, that is, the establishment of county assemblies through bottom-up elections, and then the establishment of non-partisan national assemblies, and in fact this plan was already being put into practice. However, under strong pressure at home and abroad, Rollins followed the trend, abandoned the original plan, and instead began the transition to constitutional rule, and Ghana's transition from military regime to constitutional rule was smooth and orderly, and under the control of the government.
On 26 April 1992, Ghana adopted a new constitution by referendum, which states that Ghana is a clear country committed to freedom and justice and respect for fundamental human rights, freedoms and dignity; The President is the Head of State, Head of Government and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces for a term of four years, renewable for one term; The Cabinet is appointed by the President and approved by the Parliament; Parliament must pass bills and obtain the President's consent before exercising constitutional power; The judiciary is independent and has the power to interpret, enforce and enforce laws. The parliament is unicameral and is the highest organ of state power, with the power to legislate and amend the constitution. Members of Parliament are elected by the whole country for a term of four years.
In May 1992, three major political parties were formed in Ghana: the Rollins, the Danqua-Busia and the Nkrumah. On 10 June 1992, the National Congress Party (Rollins faction) was formed, with members mostly Rollins supporters, but also a number of former members of the Nkrumah and Dankwa-Bouchia factions. The party is a center-left party of socialist liberalism, a member of the Socialist International, advocating political liberalization and economic privatization, and carrying out multifaceted diplomacy. Since 1992, it has alternated power with the New Patriotic Party (Denqua-Busia).
Rawlings lived in a time of intense political turmoil in Ghana. In the 22 years from Ghana's independence in 1957 to the eve of Rawlins' first coup d'état in 1979, Ghana experienced five regime changes, with 12 coups by military personnel and three seizures of state power. Frequent regime changes and ongoing political turmoil have reduced Ghana, the richest country in Black Africa, to one of the poorest and most volatile. However, after 20 years of Rawlings' rule, Ghana has now become one of the most stable countries in Africa, achieving steady economic growth and an overall improvement in people's living standards. This was the greatest achievement of Rollins' administration.
"Listen to you say this, this Rawlings is really a great president worthy of respect! No wonder they are all African countries, I think Ghana is actually developing well. I listened to the whole story and commented.
"Sometimes a good locomotive is good for overdrive, especially for a country. Sometimes different developments apply to different systems, and if the black country is purely based on elections or something, it will always be like the civilian government mentioned above! Americans are sometimes just peddling values that have always been in their favor, so that they can control you through their dollars, fleet, and media! "Chen Qiping seems to be particularly thoughtful, and what he discusses is beyond the boundaries of my thinking.
"Chen Dong, what you said is so thoughtful! This is the first time I've heard of this statement. "I took the teapot and poured tea for Chen Qiping.
"Haha, Xiao Zhang, I can call you Xiao Zhang, it's rare for me to find someone who can listen to my nagging, and you listen very devotedly." Chen Qiping said to me very happily.
"What Chen Dong said, I feel that it contains a lot of life principles, and it can even be said that I think about the world from a different angle! I may not need some of them now, but I know that I will definitely benefit a lot in the future! "I said to Chen Qiping sincerely.