SWOT Analysis of Ghana’s Political Environment

Strengths

Ghana is one of the West African countries that sit on the Atlantic Ocean. The state borders Togo and Burkina Faso.

According to the World Bank Report in 2018, the country had a population of 29.6 million. In the first quarter of 2019, Ghana recorded a GDP of 6.7%, which represented a significant growth compared to 5.4% of 2018 (Mills 2018).

The GDP growth rate is attributable to the continuous growth of various sectors. The constant economic growth is one of the strengths of Ghana. The political class promises to strengthen the economic performance of the country by creating more job opportunities by establishing new companies.

In Ghana, political campaigns are majorly based on economic performance. Even though Ghana has a growing economy, investors may be attracted to investing in various sectors.

Ghana experiences favorable trade within and outside the country. The country in question is known for the production of oil, gold and cocoa. In 2019, the country recorded a GDP surplus of 2.8% as a result of trade.

Mainly, cocoa is the chief agricultural export of Ghana. Over the years, Ghana has exported cocoa to different countries, including the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and South Africa.

Considering Ghana’s continuous production of cocoa, the country is in a better position of attracting new export partners. However, the government needs to increase the production of cocoa to attract international markets.

Weaknesses

According to the Economist report, Ghana is one of the African countries with fragile democracies. Even though most of the political supporters in Ghana are divided based on party affiliation, there are possibilities of clashes during elections, especially counting of results. Therefore, the work of both international and local election monitors plays an essential role in any poll.

The likeliness of incumbent governments or leaders to be ousted in the ballot box is higher in Ghana. The weakness of the political environment is not only expressed by the elections but also by ideologies and policies.

Two parties that are NPP and NDC dominate Ghana’s political environment. The opposition plays a significant role in policy formation and implementation. The two political parties are differentiated based on ideologies. Notably, the considerable impact of the resistance may result in conflicts.

If the government introduces a policy that is against the doctrines of the opposing party, the country is much more likely to experience battles (HM Government 2018). Although Ghana has two strong political parties like developed economies, the basis of the implementation of policies matters a lot. In Ghana, elections are vigorously contested.

The stiff competitions in elective positions shows that many people are willing to express their opinion in running the country. Moreover, Ghana experiences a high number of voter turnout in consideration of the total population. Despite all these, the country’s weakness is based on the ineffective adoption of policies.

Another weakness of the country in question is that most cocoa production is carried out by small-scale farmers. Even though Ghana is the world’s second exporter of cocoa after Ivory Coast, most of the production is carried out by peasant farmers. Notably, most of the cocoa plantations in Ghana sit on less than four acres of land (Crawford 2009).

The government should focus on agricultural production, particularly cocoa. Ideally, Ghana is much more likely to enjoy a competitive advantage in the production of cocoa due to its tropical climate as compared to other African countries.

If the government channels more funds to the production of cocoa, the state can record an increase in its GDP due to increased access to foreign markets.

Besides the low rate of corruption in Ghana as compared to other African countries, many businesses often quote corruption as the hindrance to doing business in the country. Studies reveal that most corruption cases in Ghana occur in locally funded contracts where companies are subject to bribes.

Apart from the companies, individuals specifically the politicians are subject to corruption. Some of the causes in Ghana include greed of money, low press freedom as well as high level of bureaucracy and ineffective administrative structures.

Even though no one is above the law, influential individuals in the country are more likely to manipulate the justice system. Notably, this shows that Ghana has a low democracy.

Opportunities

Ghana is one of the African countries with diversified cultures and tourist attraction sites. The state in question attracts a more significant number of tourists contributing significantly to the GDP.

According to the World Bank estimates, the outlook of the tourism sector in Ghana shows an annual revenue of US$ 8.3 billion by the year 2027.

Ghana has an opportunity to improve its tourism sector to lock in high returns. As a result, the country will record an increase in the real GDP. Tourism is one of the promising sectors for Ghana’s economic growth.

Threats

Ghana faces economic threats from other African countries in terms of the production of cocoa. The increasing penetration of Ivory Coast in the international markets poses a threat to Ghana’s exports.

If the state does not improve the production of cocoa, it may lose its competitive advantage to other countries (Quashie 2018). Corruption is a threat to the economic growth of Ghana. Increasing fraud will affect the democratic space as well as the economic growth of the country.

Furthermore, different neighboring countries such as Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast are becoming tourist destinations in Africa. Therefore, Ghana needs to improve its tourism sector to attract many tourists.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Ghana is one of the countries in West Africa. Being a growing economy, Ghana has the potential of attracting investors who are willing to do business in Africa. According to world records, Ghana is the second exporter of cocoa after Ivory Coast. Also, the tourism sector contributes significantly to the development of the country.

However, the country experiences various challenges, including a high level of opposition parties as well as corruption. Ghana experiences economic threats as a result of increasing competition on the production of cocoa. However, the government can promote the production of cocoa to attract new international markets.