Facts About Ghana
The six new regions were created out of the Volta, Brong Ahafo, Northern and Western regions. The Oti Region was carved out of the Volta Region, with Dambai as the capital. Bono East and Ahafo were created out of the Brong Ahafo Region with Techiman and Goaso as the respective capitals, while the former Brong Ahafo Region now becomes the Bono Region with Sunyani as the capital.
North East Region and Savannah Region were carved out of the Northern Region with Nalerigu and Damango as the new capitals respectively. Western North with Sefwi Wiawso as its capital was also created out of the Western Region
The 10 regional capitals before the creation of the new regions are still Sekondi (Western), Ho (Volta), Accra (Greater Accra), Koforidua (Eastern), Kumasi (Ashanti), Cape Coast (Central) , Sunyani (Bono), Tamale (Northern), Bolgatanga (Upper East) and Wa (Upper West).
Map of Ghana
The 16 regional capitals:
Oti Region – Dambai
Bono East Region – Techiman
Ahafo Region – Goaso
Bono Region – Sunyani
North East Region – Nalerigu
Savannah Region – Damango
Western North Region- Sefwi Wiawso
Western Region – Sekondi
Volta Region – Ho
Greater Accra Region – Accra
Eastern Region – Koforidua
Ashanti Region – Kumasi
Central Region – Cape Coast
Northern Region – Tamale
Upper East Region – Bolgatanga
Upper West Region – Wa
Coat of Arms
Ghana, is a West African country, bounded on the north by Burkina Faso, on the east by Togo, on the south by the Atlantic Ocean, and on the west by Côte d’Ivoire. Formerly a British colony known as the Gold Coast, was led to independence by Dr. Kwame Nkrumah on the 6th of March, 1957. Ghana became the first black nation in sub-Saharan Africa to achieve independence from colonial rule. The country is named after the ancient empire of Ghana, from which the ancestors of the inhabitants of the present country are thought to have migrated.
The population of Ghana is divided into some 75 ethnic groups. The estimated population of Ghana in 2012 is 24,652,402 (females-51%, males 49), giving the country an overall population density of 78 persons per sq km (201 per sq mi). The most densely populated parts of the country are the coastal areas, the Ashanti region, and the two principal cities, Accra and Kumasi. About 70 percent of the total population lives in the southern half of the country. The most numerous peoples are the coastal Fanti, and the Ashanti, who live in central Ghana, both of whom belong to the Akan family. The Accra plains are inhabited by the Ga-Adangbe. Most of the inhabitants in the northern region belong to the Moshi-Dagomba or to the Gonja group.
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Establishment and Mission
The Parliamentary Service was established in 1993 by the Parliamentary Service Act (Act 460) pursuant to article 124 of the 1992 Constitution. It has a governing Board composed of six (6) Members with the Speaker of Parliament as the Chairman. The head of the Service is the Clerk to Parliament who is assisted by three (3) Deputies, Heads of Departments, Unit Heads and other specialized officers.
The Parliamentary Service exists to facilitate the work of Parliament through the provision of support services to the House including its committees and agencies for the purpose of ensuring full and effective exercise of the powers of Parliament. Furthermore, it works to enhance the dignity of the House and adequately inform the public on Parliamentary activities. In discharging its functions, the Service ensures transparency, non-partisanship and a high sense of professionalism.
Parliamentary Service Board
The Parliamentary Service is governed by the Parliamentary Service Board, which is composed of:
- The Speaker, as chairman;
- Four other members appointed by the Speaker, acting in accordance with the advice of a Committee of parliament; and
- The Clerk to Parliament.
The Parliamentary Service Board appoints the Clerk to Parliament and other members of staff of the Service in consultation with the Public Services Commission.
Clerk to Parliament
The Clerk to Parliament is the principal advisor to the Speaker and Members on matters of privilege, practice and procedure.
As head of the Parliamentary Service, it is the duty of the Clerk to:
- arrange Sittings of the House;
- prepare the Order Paper;
- keep the Minutes Book.
Bills passed by the House are authenticated by the Clerk for Presidential assent. It is also the duty of the Clerk to preside over the first Sitting of a newly elected Parliament for the purpose of electing the Speaker.
The Clerk also presides over the Management Committee comprising the three (3) Deputy Clerks and Heads of Departments.
In the discharge of his duties, the Clerk demonstrates non-partisanship and impartiality.
Ghana achieved Independence on 6th March, 1957. The political struggles that preceded this historic event date back over a hundred years.
The early period of nationalist struggle for political independence created political awareness and desire to assert the right of self-determination both for the individual and the State.
As far back as 1850, Ghana, then The Gold Coast, was given its own Legislative Council to advise the colonial Governor in enacting legislation mainly in the form of Ordinances “for the peace, order and good government of the subject.” The Legislative Council was purely advisory as the Governor exercised all legislative and executive powers.
In 1916 the Legislative Council was reconstituted to include nine nominated officials, six of whom were Africans, as opposed to eleven officials and the Governor. The first Legislative Council elections ever to be held took place in 1925 under the Guggisberg Constitution. Under this arrangement the Governor still retained complete control of legislation.
Under the 1946 Bums Constitution which replaced the Guggisberg Constitution, the representatives of the people formed the majority in the Legislative Council. The Governor ceased to be ex-officio President of the Legislative Council and an unofficial Member was appointed President. This system continued until 1951 when the Legislature elected its first Speaker under the 1950 Constitution.
In 1951 the first large-scale elections to the Legislative Assembly took place when 75 Members were elected. There were three nominated ex-officio Members and six special Members representing commercial and mining interests.
The 1954 transitional Constitution provided for an Assembly of a Speaker and 104 Members elected on party lines on the basis of universal adult suffrage.
In 1957, when Ghana achieved full political Independence the constitution was fashioned after the Westminster model. In June, 1960, ten women were elected by the National Assembly to fill specially created seats. This was done to expose women to parliamentary life. This system of election was not intended to be permanent. The Act made no provision for filling a vacancy caused by death, resignation or expulsion of a woman Member.
On 1st July, 1960 Ghana became a sovereign unitary Republic. In February, 1964 Ghana adopted a one-party system of Government. The First National Assembly of the Republic was , dissolved in 1965 and a general election in which all the 198 Members, all of them Members of the national party, the convention People”s Party (C.P.P.) were elected unopposed.The 1964 Constitutional Amendments among other things increased the powers and prerogatives of the President.
In February, 1966 the First Republican Government was overthrown by a military coup which installed a military government that remained in power up to September, 1969, when, on its own volition, it handed over power to another constitutionally elected government, and thereby restored parliamentary rule once again.
After only 22 months in office the second parliamentary democracy also succumbed to another military rule between January 1972 and October 1979, when under much political pressure, that military government was compelled to usher in the Third Republican parliamentary system. In December 1981 parliamentary democracy was once more thrown into cold storage as a result of yet another military coup. However, the country returned to constitutional rule again on 7th January, 1993.
