Ghana @ 60: Governance and human rights in twenty-first century Africa
Edited by Michael Addaney and Michael Gyan Nyarko
2017
ISBN: 978-1-920538-74-3
Pages: 378
Print version: Available
Electronic version: Free PDF available
About the publication
Ghana was the first country in sub-Saharan Africa to gain independence and played a critical role in the political transformation and regional integration in Africa. Over the years, Ghana has transformed from one-party state through military rule to multiparty democracy. Since independence, despite internal challenges, Ghana continues to play a critical transformational role on the African continent. This influence has been reinvigorated since the emergence of the concept of African Renaissance and adoption of the ‘African solutions for African problems’ mantra in the early 2000s. On 6 March 2017, Ghana celebrated its 60th anniversary of independence from colonial rule. Current circumstances in Ghana and Africa reinforce the argument that democracy and the rule of law are maintained by vigilance and involvement of the people. In this regard, this edited volume audited some of the issues relating to the state of human rights standards and compliance, democratic consolidation and development in Ghana as well as to bring forward how Ghana has contributed to the political, economic, cultural and ideological development in Africa.
Through a human rights-based approach to governance and socio-economic development, the book examines the experiences of Ghana, selected experiences of other African countries and the African Union in advancing good governance and human rights over the years, on the journey to attain shared prosperity for all. The book takes stock of major developments in the areas of political and civil rights as well as economic, social and cultural rights in Africa, the changing nature of democratisation, regional integration and pan-Africanism, and the ways in which the African Union policies may impact differently on governance and human rights on the continent.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
Foreword
Abbreviations and acronyms
Contributors
List of laws
List of cases
2. By accountants and vigilantes: The role of individual actions in the Ghanaian Supreme Court
Michael Addaney & Michael Gyan Nyarko
PART II: GHANA AT 60 – HUMAN RIGHTS AND CONSOLIDATION OF GOOD GOVERNANCE IN A CHALLENGING ERA
2. By accountants and vigilantes: The role of individual actions in the Ghanaian Supreme Court
Kenneth NO Ghartey
3. Electoral justice under Ghana’s Fourth Republic
Lydia A Nkansah
4. Safeguarding online freedom of speech in Ghana in an election year: The role of government
Ebenezer Adjei Bediako
5. Civil society and the right to access to information in the Ghanaian oil industry
Nora Ho Tu Nam
6. Ghana’s poverty alleviation strategy: Promising start, but bleak future?
Bright Nkrumah
7. Women’s political participation in decision-making processes and organs in Ghana: Trends, practices and social realities
Bright J Sefah & Kennedy Kariseb
8. The pursuit of actual equality: Women’s matrimonial property rights in Ghana since independence
Kwaku Agyeman-Budu
PART THREE: COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVES ON GOVERNANCE AND HUMAN RIGHTS IN AFRICA
9. Challenges to judicial enforcement of socio-economic rights in Africa: Comparative lessons from Ghana and South Africa
Christopher Y Nyinevi
10. A comparative analysis of multiparty politics in Ghana and Mauritius
Darsheenee Singh Ramnauth & Roopanand Mahadew
11. Deepening and sustaining electoral democracy in Kenya: Lessons from Ghana
Lucianna Thuo
12. Towards a human rights-based approach for countering economic crises: Ghana and Zambia’s experiences with the global financial crisis
Grace Mukulwamutiyo
13. Transnationals, social media and democratisation of Africa in the twenty-first century: Lessons from Zimbabwe
Cowen Dziva & Munatsi Shoko
PART FOUR: THE AFRICAN UNION AND THE REALISATION OF DEMOCRATIC GOVERNANCE AND HUMAN RIGHTS IN TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY AFRICA
14. Pan-Africanism and development in the twenty-first century: A critical analysis of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD)
Elsabé Boshoff & Owiso Owiso
15. Moving the debate forward: Securing the rights of refugees under the African human rights system
Michael Addaney
16. The ‘protection of’ and ‘assistance to’ internally displaced persons in Africa
Romola Adeola
17. Women’s human rights in twenty-first century Africa: Taking stock of the Maputo Protocol
Hlengiwe Dube
18. Transnational democracy in Africa and the African Union’s Agenda 2063: Beyond Nkrumah’s Pan-Africanist pushbacks
Chairman Okoloise
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