Military Interventions
In 1964 the Constitution was amended to make Ghana a one-party state with Nkrumah as its life President. That coupled with increasing dictatorial and oppressive tendencies, which for example, led to the death of Danquah in detention, eventually led to the overthrow of the CPP Government in a military coup led by Colonel Emmanuel Kwasi Kotoka. Nkrumah lived the rest of his life in exile in Guinea where Sekou Toure, the president of Guinea, appointed him co-president until he died in April 1972.
The first Coup
The successor regime, the National Liberation Council, was a military-cum-police Administration, headed by Lieutenant-General Joseph Ankrah. Other members of the Council were J.W.K. Harley, Commissioner of Police, Deputy Chairman, Colonel E.K. Kotoka, General Officer Commanding the Ghana Armed Forces, B.A. Yakubu, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Colonel A.K. Ocran, J.E.O. Nunoo, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Major A.A, Afrifa and A.K. Deku, Deputy Commissioner of Police.
To administer the county effectively and efficiently, the NLC appointed seventeen commissioners, of whom fourteen were civilians to head various ministries and exercise functions formerly performed by Ministers. The seventeen commissioners together with the members of the NLC were constituted into an Executive Council that was responsible for the general direction and control of government. In addition, the NLC constituted five expert advisory committees, namely, the Economic Committee under the chairmanship of E.N. Omaboe, the Foreign Relations Committee under the chairmanship of H.R. Amonoo, the Administrative Committee under the chairmanship of T.K. Impraim, the Publicity Committee under the chairmanship of C.C. Lokko, and the National Relief Committee under the chairmanship of B.B. Asmah to assist in the urgent need of solving the pressing problems of governing the county. Finally to arrest the deteriorating standards of behaviour in business and social life, a National Courts Campaign Committee was set up and so also was the Centre of Civic Education established under the national chairmanship of Dr. Kofi Abrefa Busia to help the citizenry to understand and appreciate their rights and responsibilities as citizens of Ghana.
Very early in its administration, the NLC released all persons held in custody under the PDA, generally restored freedom of speech and of the press and committed itself to return the country to constitutional democratic rule as soon as it was practicable to do so. Consequently, the NLC appointed a sixteen member constitutional commission on 1 September 1966 under the chairmanship of Mr. Justice Edward Akufo-Addo, then Chief Justice of the Republic of Ghana, to draft a constitution for the country. The NLC also appointed another sixteen-member commission under the chairmanship of Mr. J.B. Siriboe to make recommendations on new electoral system for the country. The recommendation of these commissions facilitated the birth of the second republic.
Before the NLC could successfully carry through its programme of returning his country to democratic constitutional rule two incidents of major significance occurred revealing that a military government was not immune to coup d’état and corruption. The first incident occurred in April 1967, when Lieutenants S.B. Arthur and Yeboah with a platoon of 120 soldiers stationed at Ho attempted unsuccessfully to overthrow the NLC. In the event, Lieutenant General Kotoka was killed. After a court martial, the leaders of the insurrection were publicly executed by firing squad, the first in the history of Ghana. The second incident occurred on 2 March 1969 when Lieutenant General Ankrah resigned as chairman of the NLC after he had confessed that he had collected moneys from some foreign companies to organize a political party of his own. He was replaced as chairman of the NLC Head of State by Brigadier Afrifa.
The second republican constitution was promulgated in August 1969. It provided for a unitary state; a-one camera parliament; an executive Prime Minister who must be the leader of the majority party in parliament and must himself be a Member of Parliament; a non-executive ceremonial president to the elected by an electoral college and a leader of opposition who must himself be a Member of Parliament and a member of the largest opposition party in parliament.
Elections under the 1969 Constitution were conducted on 29 August 1969 and were contested by the Progress Party, (PP), led by Dr. Busia, that won 105 seats in the 140-seat parliament; the National Alliance of Liberals (NAL), led by K.A.Gbedemah, that won 29 seats. The United Nationalist Party (PAP), led by Imoru Ayarna, which won 2 seats; the All People’s Republican Party (APRP), led by P.K.K. Quaidoo, that won 1 seat and an independent candidate. In accordance with the provision of the 1969 Constitution, Dr. Kofi Abrefa Busia, leader of the PP who was also the Member of Parliament for the Wenchi East Constituency became the Prime Minister and leader of government on 1 October 1969 when the NLC handed over power. Mr. Edward Akufo-Addo, then Chief Justice was elected the non-executive ceremonial president and the leader of the opposition was Dr. G.K. Agama who was later replaced by Mr. E.R.T. Madjitey.
The Prime Minister met the press in 1971. This was the first of its kind to be held. He called on the media to help rebuild the nation. Busia’s government believed in the rule of law which allowed individuals to sue the government as in the case of Salley vs. government. By allowing his government to be sued, the Prime Minister said his government has demonstrated to the world that it had come to serve every Ghanaian and “not to show where power lies.”
For the period that the PP ruled the country in focused attention on reviving the national economy and developing the rural areas. While pursuit of the former entailed the adoption of International Monetary Fund and World Bank led polices of strict monetary control and adherence to budgetary estimates, pursuit of the latter meant levying additional taxes for the revenue required for rural development. The Government achieved mixed results: implementation of the economic policies became its nemesis, while the policy on rural development achieved modes successes reflected, as for example, in the continuation of the NLC policy on rural development achieved modest successes reflected, as for example, in the continuation of the NLC policy of establishing a Ministry for Rural Development and the initiation of programmes for rural health service and the supply of water and electricity to rural areas.
Second Coup
However, in the process of establishing sanity in the economy the PP Government adopted bitter and unpalatable policies such as the devaluation of the Cedi, retrenchment in the public service, particularly in the state owned enterprises; withdrawal of some elite and employment related privileges; disbanding the Trades Union Congress; implementing the Aliens Compliance Order that forced out of the country several thousands of African migrants and the dismissal of 568 senior civil and public officers from the civil and public service, some of who successfully challenged the legality of their dismissal. This made the PP Government very unpopular and provided justification for the coup of 1972. The PP was in government for only 27 months from 30th September 1969 to 13 January 1972 when it was overthrown in a military coup d’état led by Colonel Ignatius Kutu Acheampong.
Even though initial announcement by Colonel Acheampong revealed that the country would be governed by a National Redemption Council (NRC) comprising an Executive Council and broad based ‘representatives form various walks of life’, namely, Regional Commissioners; the Christian Council; the Moslem Community; Farmer; the Trade Unions; Chiefs. Chambers of Commerce and the Ghana Bar Association, the eventual government that was constituted was the NRC and Commissioners responsible for Ministries and the Regions. Colonel I.K. Acheampong chaired the NRC whose other members were Brigadier N.Y.R. Ashley Larsen, Chief of Defense Staff, Colonel E.A, Erskine, Army Commander, Commodore, Major A.H. Selormey, Major R.M. Baah, Major K.B. Agbo and Mr. J.H. Cobbina, Inspector General of Police.
To be continued ...
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