The Ghana Political Tradition and the Men who made it: John Jerry Rawlings

Abena Kwatemaa Offeh-Gyimah

The Ghana political tradition examines ideological accounts of previous presidents, their beliefs, philosophy, economic virtues and the consensus of the citizens.

One cannot ignore John Jerry Rawlings when speaking of the Ghana political tradition. To some scholars, he was the problem child of Ghana political history; to his opposition, he is seen as a threat to Ghana’s democratic system; to others, he brought stability to Ghana’s economy after years of turmoil; and to his followers he is Ghana’s living legend. Despite the label he carries depending on the lens that one views him, John Jerry Rawlings was charismatic, intellectual and vital to Ghana’s development as a young country.

John Jerry Rawlings was born on June 22, 1947 in Accra to a Ghanaian mother and a Scottish father in the Volta Region. He attended Achimota where he earned a General Certificate of Education. He was a Flight Cadet in the Ghana Air Force in August 1967.

Rawlings became a Pilot Officer upon completing his studies at Takoradi. Some scholars argue that, “During his service with the Ghanaian Air Force, Rawlings perceived a deterioration of discipline and morale, reflecting the corruption of the Supreme Military Council (SMC) at that time. He read widely and discussed social and political ideas with a growing circle of like-minded friends and colleagues.” He appeared before a General Court Martial in Accra under the charge that he had led some junior officers to mutiny. While waiting for a second court date, with the help of civilians and some military persons, he expelled the Supreme Military Council from office and brought the Armed Force Revolutionary Council (AFRC) on June 4, 1979. This led to uprising on both sides, which prompted Rawlings to sign the execution of former military authoritarian rulers, Ignatius Kutu Acheampong, Akwasi Afrifa and other generals.

Interestingly, Rawlings did not deny any responsibility to this. The Armed Force Revolutionary Council (AFRC) carried out a few executions as a way of restoring some sort of moral responsibility in the public. The AFRC permitted the scheduled parliamentary and presidential elections to take place the same year it seized power; promulgated the constitution; and handed over power to the new and democratically elected President and Parliament of the Third Republic of Ghana on September 24, 1979.

On December 31, 1981, Rawlings returned to power in a coup that succeeded against little opposition in toppling President Limann whose People’s National Party government had failed to halt the continuing decline in the economy of Ghana. Rawlings and his colleagues established the Provisional National Defense Council (PNDC) whose membership included both military and civilian personnel. As providence would have it, ex-President Kufour served briefly on the PNDC under Chairman Rawlings at that time!

Under pressure from both international and local groups for a return to democracy, the PNDC under Chairman Rawlings allowed the establishment of a 258-member Consultative Assembly made up of members representing geographic districts as well as established civic and business organizations to draft a constitution using PNDC proposal. The constitution which established the Fourth Republic of Ghana received a 92% approval in a national referendum on April 28, 1992.

The ban on party politics was lifted on May 18, 1992 in preparation for multi-party elections. Chairman Rawlings and his PNDC supporters formed a new party, the National Democratic Congress (NDC), to contest the elections.

Rawlings stood as the candidate for the National Democratic Congress in presidential elections in 1992. He won a large percentage of the vote and was re-elected in 1996.

Ghana flourished with tremendous stability under John Rawlings. His party, NDC implemented an agricultural policy and program between 1994 and 2000 resulting in the recognition of Ghana’s Food Production Index of 148%. It was the third highest achievement in the record after Jordan and China in the World’s Bank development report.
In addition, Rawlings passed the value added tax (VAT of 10%) to secure government revenue base, which continues to fund most government public expenditures. His administration also passed the Ghana Educational Trust Fund (GET Fund) to support the education of many Ghanaians.
Furthermore, in the urban road sector, he reconstructed the entire Kumasi, Sekondi-Takoradi and Accra city roads. In Accra, these included the six-lane dual carriage road leading to the four-lane dual carriage road from the Tetteh Quarshie Interchange to the Independence Avenue. Additionally, he constructed the Kumasi-Sunyani asphalt road; the Kintampo-Tamale-Bolgatanga-Paga-Faso asphalt road; and the double surfacing bitumen Bibiani-Awaso-Sefwi Wiawso road.
In regards to education, Rawlings advanced the policy in establishing private tertiary institutions, including Universities, to supplement the public sector Universities. He improved Winneba Advanced Teacher Training College into a full-fledged public University of Education.
Rawlings is often presented in all ambiguity; however, it is important to note that he revived the spirit of a country that was dying from previous administrations. Ghana was far from being progressive, suffering economically and politically. His contribution during his presidency stabilized the country after its long search for an identity after independence.
There are some workings of Rawlings, which many people in the Republic of Ghana greatly disagree with. He made several poor decisions on impulse and felt threatened by opposition, yet he was powerful and outstanding. However, when discussing the ideals of Rawlings, it is imperative to examine the time he came in power and the state of the country’s politics and economic structure. Ghana readily accepted him and he quickly rose to become the man of the people.