Ghana the former Gold Coast is located on West Africa’s Gulf of Guinea only a few degrees north of the Equator and is bordered on the north by Burkina Faso, on the west by Côte d’Ivoire, and on the east by TogoOfficial name: Republic of Ghana In Africa, Ghana ranks 24th by size out of 53 countries, 9th by population and 7th by population densityPopulation :29.12 million (0.38% of world population)Population density- 127 per kmsqMedian age- 20.5 years, Sex Ratio : 1.03 Males/FemaleLiteracy rate : 77.
2% Major Religion : Christianity-74.1% , Islam 17.5%, and about 9% of the population practices other religions, including the Baha’i Faith, Buddhism, Judaism, Hinduism, Shintoism, Ninchiren Shoshu Soka Gakkai, Sri Sathya Sai and indigenous religions. Read GDP: 2.71 billion USD (2016)Currency : Cedi( 1 Ghanaian cedi =0.22 US dollar)Capital City : AccraLegislature: Parliament of GhanaPolitical Structure: Ghana is a unitary republic with an executive presidency and a multiparty political system.
Head of State : Nana Akufo-AddoRuling Party : The New Patriotic PartyGDP: 2.71 billion USD (2016)Currency : Cedi( 1 Ghanaian cedi =0.22 US dollar)Capital City : AccraLegislature: Parliament of GhanaPolitical Structure: Ghana is a unitary republic with an executive presidency and a multiparty political system. Head of State : Nana Akufo-AddoRuling Party : The New Patriotic PartyGDP: 2.71 billion USD (2016)Currency : Cedi( 1 Ghanaian cedi =0.22 US dollar)Capital City : AccraLegislature: Parliament of GhanaPolitical Structure: Ghana is a unitary republic with an executive presidency and a multiparty political system. Head of State : Nana Akufo-AddoRuling Party : The New Patriotic PartyGDP: 2.
71 billion USD (2016)Currency : Cedi( 1 Ghanaian cedi =0.22 US dollar)Capital City : AccraLegislature: Parliament of GhanaPolitical Structure: Ghana is a unitary republic with an executive presidency and a multiparty political system. Head of State : Nana Akufo-AddoRuling Party : The New Patriotic PartyGDP: 2.71 billion USD (2016)Currency : Cedi( 1 Ghanaian cedi =0.22 US dollar)Capital City : AccraLegislature: Parliament of GhanaPolitical Structure: Ghana is a unitary republic with an executive presidency and a multiparty political system.
Head of State : Nana Akufo-AddoRuling Party : The New Patriotic PartyTotal Area: 238,538 sq. km.Land: 227,500 sq.km.
Water:11,000 sq.kmCoastline: 539 Km National anthem: “Hail the name of Ghana” Official Language : English (more than 250 languages spoken)Population Growth: 2.2%Total roadways: 109,515 kmAirports: 8Agricultural land: 157,000sq kmcountry code – 233Inflation(% change) :17.
5%GDP growth: 3.5%Urban population: 54.7%Life expectancy male: 61.7, female 63.7 yearsIndependence day: 6th march 1957Human Development index: value-0.58, Rank-159(2015)Corruption Index: Rank 70/176Doing Business Ranking: 120Ghana has a market-based economy with relatively few policy barriers to trade and investment Agriculture accounts for about 20% of GDP and employs more than half of the workforceMilitary : The Ghana Armed Forces is the unified armed force of Ghana, consisting of the Army, Navy, and Ghana Air ForceDefence spending 177 million US dollar Military Expenditure is 0.4% of GDPThe climate is tropical.Major Agricultural products are cocoa, rice, cassava (manioc, tapioca), peanuts, corn, shea nuts, bananas; timber Total imports: 15,045 million US dollar Major Imports are capital equipment, refined petroleum, foodstuffsImport partners: China 17.
3%, UK 9.7%, US 7.7%, Belgium 5.
1%, India 4.6% (2016)Total Exports:13,539 Million US dollarMajor exports are oil, gold, cocoa, timber, tuna, bauxite, aluminium, manganese ore, diamonds, horticultural productsExport Partners: Switzerland 17.6%, India 14.7%, UAE 13.4%, China 8.9%, Vietnam 5.
2%, Netherlands 4.2%, Burkina Faso 4% (2016)Total mobile subscriptions: 37,445,048.Internet users: 9,935,286 (34.
7% of the population)Facebook users: 4,000,000 as of June, 2017Ghana, like many West African countries, is characterised by a multi-ethnic social environment. The country has over 75 ethnic groups speaking a plethora of indigenous languages. Ghana is ranked as Africa’s most peaceful country by the Global Peace Index.Ghana is Africa’s second-biggest gold producer and second-largest cocoa producer. The country is rich in diamonds and oilLake Volta is the world’s largest artificial lake.
Obstacles to NPL resolution: As banks are required to take approval from Bank of Ghana before writing off loans, this creates an incentive for Banks not to write off loansWeak capital buffers and difficulties in realizing collateral increase banks’ reluctance to address NPLsNo secondary market for distressed debts in GhanaLack of debt counseling is another common problemThe efficiency of the institutional framework (particularly judicial systems) is low which slow banks down in taking over properties or securitiesAbsence of central credit registration system results in many fraudulent attempts to get creditShort term solutions to deal with loans that are already turned bad:Government can infuse more capital in banks to encourage lendingFacilitation of various restructuring tools, such as debt-equity swaps Development of distressed debt markets by improving market infrastructure and, in some cases, using asset management companies (AMCs) or other special-purpose vehicles that could help kick-start a market for distressed debt.Tax rules should be reviewed and amended which discourage creditors from provisioning or writing off loans or from selling any underlying collateral also inhibit debtors from accepting debt restructuring or write-off deals.Securitization of bad loans could be a solution as adopted by Italy and China.Long term solutions to make sure similar situation does not repeat:Establishment of a Public Credit Registry which can provide a complete financial overview of any person or entity to the banks and other credit agencies.Creating mechanism for Banks to conduct necessary sensitivity analysis and contingency planning while appraising the projects and it should built adequate safeguards against external factors.Fixing the loopholes in the Borrowers and Lenders Act that encourages some borrowers to sue banks on some issue which slow banks down in taking over properties or securities
