Ghana was the first sub-Saharan African country to gain independence on March 6, 1957. The country formerly known as the Gold coast was colonized by Britain (Boddy, 2017). Having gained independence at the time when many other African countries were still struggling to gain their own independence, Ghana was seen by many as a beacon of the future for Africans and Africa as a continent. After their invasion of the Gold Coast, the British colonies expanded their territory into several parts of the land. The existence of the military confrontations between the Ashanti and the Fante greatly contributed to the British influence on the Gold Coast. The influence was further boosted by British expanding their judicial powers thus coming into full control of the territories. During the Britain reign in Ghana, there was a massive improvement in infrastructure, with many schools being constructed in many parts of the country. In the 1950s, the Ghanaian leader Kwame Nkrumah led in the push for independence. Nkrumah enjoyed a massive support not only in Ghana but also across the world. Ghana, however, faced several challenges during the independence period which are still felt in the country up to date.
Ghana is one of the West African Countries that experienced massive slave trade for close to three centuries. Millions of African men and women were being sold as slaves to the European countries as well as America. According to Pruitt (2016), out of the 50% of the slaves that were transported to the United States, a significant amount of the enslaved Africans originated from the Gold Coast, currently known as Ghana. Throughout the West African countries, millions of slaves were sold to both the European countries and the United States of America. In the United States alone, the number of slaves brought in represented about 3.6% of the Africans slaves taken to the New World.
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Nearly over two hundred years since the abolishment of the slave trade, the effects are still being felt in many West Africa countries including Ghana. Many strong youths were sold into slavery leaving the country with insufficient labor for their own economic growth. The economic development of any country depends on the availability and strength of its labor force. However, millions of the strong people who could provide labor were transported to Europe and United States as slaves leaving their country with few people to provide labor for the economic development. These effects are still visible in many parts of Ghana, with low levels of development witnessed in many rural areas. Despite the progressive growth that Ghana has witnessed for the past few years, the scenes in most parts of the rural areas seem to have made insignificant changes with several grass-thatched and mud-walled houses.
Most people in Ghana, especially in the rural areas still live under poverty levels with no electricity or even clean drinking water. The infrastructure in these rural villages is still poor, with some places lacking proper roads or other efficient means of transport. The high rate of underdevelopment has been contributed to the transportation of strong men and women as slaves to the European countries leaving Ghana without enough labor force. The long-term slavery in Ghana hindered the country from getting into agrarian revolution and the industrial revolution ( Ross , 2007). Industrialization will definitely require a stable agricultural production, which depends on the availability of labor. As a result of the slavery, Ghana has witnessed underdevelopment for years and despite the efforts that the governments made, these effects remain to be felt in many rural areas where poverty levels are still high.
Historians have stated that without slavery, the population of Africa would have been double of what it was by 1850s, and this could have meant more people to reproduce resulting to enough labor force for agriculture and industrialization. The slavery-era involved the transportation of able-bodied individuals who were between 18-40 years as slaves to the Western countries. As a result of this, the societies’ ability to reproduce itself both economically, socially and culturally was hindered. The people left could not provide enough labor force required in the agriculture and industrial sectors. The slave trade also fuelled the conflicts and long-lasting wars between the communities. At the time of war, slaves were readily available compared to when people were at peace with each other. The existence of this peace, which was a strategy employed by the Europeans to get more slaves also contributed to the underdevelopment that is witnessed in Ghana to date. When people are at war with themselves, chances of developments are impaired, instead, people spend most of the time fighting and killing each other.
The serious effects of the slave trade, which took away the able-bodied people, made it easy for the British to colonize the country. The country could no longer defend itself as all the strong people had been sold into slavery. Therefore, the long-lasting effects of the slave trade in Ghana are still evident in many parts of the country. Most rural areas still have grass-thatched and mud-walled houses. There is no electricity in most parts of the rural areas as a large number of people still live below the poverty line.
The various recommendations that Ghana can adopt to improve their economic growth and move from underdeveloped country to developed country include the government increasing investment on industrialization, promote and improve healthcare, promoting and enhancing education and increasing the expenditure on infrastructure and other social amenities. The government in place can put industrialization as its main agenda and invest more on it while at the same time create a peaceful environment that will attract foreign investors. Industrialization is one of the main areas that can lead to the development of a country through the creation of employment opportunities and increased exportation of the industrial produce resulting in increased foreign income. This can be done in a long-term project that goes into stages. Investment in the quality health care is also an essential area that will impact positively on the economic development of Ghana. As the say goes, a healthy nation is a wealthy nation. A healthy labor force is very productive compared to the unhealthy labor force, and by investing in healthcare, the economy of the country can grow.
Investing in quality education is another area that can always help a nation develop economically. Education provides knowledge that can lead to creativity and innovation. These innovation skills are essential for the development of a country in many sectors of the economy. Since most parts of the rural areas of Ghana still have poor infrastructure, the government can increase the spending on infrastructure in these areas so that roads, electricity and other social amenities are available for the citizens. Good infrastructure acts as a supplement to some sectors such as trade, industrialization, and agriculture. Improving infrastructure will, therefore, facilitate other sectors and the result will be increased economic development and improved living standards for the citizens. These strategies can be implemented in a step by step process, with the outcomes being realized both in the long term and short term.
In conclusion, slavery trade had serious effects on the economic development of Ghana, with the effects being felt in the country to date. The transportation of strong men and women to the Western countries as slaves left a gap in the labor force, resulting to slow economic development. As a result, many rural parts of the country are still underdeveloped, and in the 21st century, most people still live without access to electricity and other social amenities.
References
Boddy-Evans, A. (2017, September 18). Chronological list of African independence. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/chronological-list-of-african-independence-4070467
Pruitt, S. (2016, May 3). What part of Africa did most slaves come from? HISTORY. Retrieved from http://www.history.com/news/ask-history/what-part-of-africa-did-most-slaves-come-from
Ross, W. (2007, March 29). Slavery's long effects on Africa. BBC News. Retrieved from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6504141.stm
