POVERTY REDUCTION IN NORTHERN GHANA: A REVIEW OF COLONIAL AND POST-INDEPENDENCE DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES

Poverty reduction has become so topical that it appears no proposal for multinational or bilateral funding receives any attention unless there is evidence of how the project would reduce poverty especially among women and children. The Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy (GPRSI) document revealed that the three northern regions of Ghana are still in the leading pack of administrative regions contributing approximately 40% of the poor in Ghana. This paper examines the nature, dimensions and failure of poverty reduction strategies in the three northern regions of Ghana. This pa¬per, which provides an overview of policy interventions since colonialism to date, argues that from colonialism through nationalism where radical and liberal reforms have been undertaken, northern Ghana has not benefited on an equitable basis. Gains from the policies have not been able to tackle its poverty situation adequately due to the lack of understanding of the poverty situation in terms of its nature and dimensions. The paper concludes that northerners themselves must lead the crusade on poverty reduction through increased investment in education, collaboration with governments and community-based organizations and the cultivation of positive mindedness rather than resort to divisive tendencies. Such collaborative efforts, it is argued can result in comprehensive strategies that can address the core of northern Ghana's poverty.