UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. DEPARTMENT OF STATE DOCUMENTS RELATING TO VOLTA DAM PROJECT Vol. 2 " '" '" ) '" f. , ,, , , ( . > l> •. , " a ' J ,,' " , @ In reIll7 rater to AF !/f \(f j~i Dear Miss Owem /"-bl J ,:I.e I ! In accordance v.i th the' suggestion made in a telephone conver- _tion v1tb yoar of'fice oq/ January 28, 1954, there is enclosed a coW of' despatch No. 130 j:Jf' January 9 f'ral the American Consulate .1 -.; t General at Aocra, Gold Coast, concerning the torthcaning visit to ...: , the United States of Canmemer R. G. A. Jackson, Head of the Volta ... 1 :, R1 Tar Prepara torT Camniaslon. The Department of State is informing the ConSlllate General that it would be agreeable for Commander Jackson to camnun1cate direct1)" 'With Mr. Gardon Clapp and that )"011 plan to vrite the • latter or the former's desire to visit Knoxville on April 13, 1954. Sincere1)" ,-ours, ~ g~ I tr Nicholas FeId C'I orticer-in-Charge ~ West, Central and East African Affairs Enclosure: '/ Cow ot despatch Ho. 130. AIR roUCH UNCLASSIFIED .' ROM o EF UBJECT,r. Visit to United States of Head~, ; VOlt: , River Preparatory COrruni~Si6~~ ~_; ; -;,' ?\ v ,~ - '::: ~:'~0 . Vfuen Commander Robert G. A. JACKSON called on me on December 30 he left so~u ~ notes about his forthcoming visit to the United States which are quoted he~:h: ~ . ~ "1. I should like to visit Washington from about Tuesday, 6th April to ........ ~ Monday, 12th April for the purpose of discussions with the International -- ~ Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and with various IT. S. Goverl!- I ' ment authorities. I sho Ul d like to talk to the staff of the U.S.P.H.S. " (0 about our health problems and I would like to have talks, too, with those (;1 1- concerned with the provision of housing in hot climates. If deSired, I ~ could give the State Depcrtment a summary of our work in the Prepqratory Commission. ' '.- ' -< ~- . ,. / J- - I~/ ~_~ 1<~ l- !~. ( .:. ... " ".. .. :"~-: . ..::,,- .""'- -' I) . ". ....... -:" If deSirable, I would also like to call on t~e Department of the Interior preparatory to visiting the Bureau of Reclaimation at Denver and the Bonneville Power Authority. / 112. If convenient to the T.V.A., I should like to arrive in Knoxville on Tuesday, 13th April and stay there for a couple of days. I would like to discuss the Volta Project generally, and with particular reference to the powers and functions of a multi-purpose authority. Health measures and methods employed for clearing growth in inundated areas are other subjects atout which I should like advice. If agreeable to the T.V.A. I could subsequently correspond atout this direct with Mr. Gordon Clapp. If convenient, I should like to call on the Bureau of Reclaimation at Denver on Tuesday, 27th April and discuss the Volta Project generally, and tell the Bureau atout our problems. Similarly, I should like to call on the Bonneville fuwer Authority during the week commencing Monday," jrd May. Would it be possible for me to visit the Grand Coulee Dam? (I can give more exact dates for visiting furtland a little later on). Commander Jackson said he would be ' most appreciative if the Department could arrange appointments for him to meet with officials interested in the matters he has outlined, especially as regards his visits to the places mentioned in the last I three paragraphs quoted above; and I believe the Department would wish to assist ~ ~:r William E. COle/ram .) J ".) " I ,,, ?Jtl'(; I l!'nSIlTffiJ '" I o J , J) , J -----=---::R~EP~O::::RT~E.;:.R~=----';'--~L ~~ ~ I; f J .J J .J ,» ) ;) I }-v' u ' ) ~ :J ~ ~ ) ~ ~ 'J ;, j) .J) )) ~. AC'l" :;>Or~J COpy; - DEP'kR? 1\1EHT OF ':5l'ATE '- The a ction office must r eturn this perm a nent recor d cop), t o DC Rill v' t a n ndor ero.e.nWl.1-'lctieSp.- No 1)0 e . .____o t :&.~~I~~w~c=~~sI~n~~~~.. ~ .. ~.. Encl. No. ___ ,. From Accra 1 ;. ..•.. ..r r..i'a. ;s i{ica.t ',oTl/ .• .. ... ; ~gesp. No. ___ . '", . , .., .~ .. ~ r:rom'--_________I I " } .. .s far .s practicable. ~ ACTION REQUESTED: Information is requested as to what action the Department will take regarding Commander Jackson's request. /Y~'t'·ea William E. Cole American Consul Department: Please send copies to London and Montreal. I. . .- . " •U NG ~SII ~ Commander Jackson as to the precise dates he will visit Portland.;·,' .' r -. - .. " . - .--..... • .,~ The Department, also, would like several of its officers • interested in Gold Coast affairs to meet with Commander Jackson for . o about one hour while he is in WaShington. If this is agreeable to , ..~ , Commander "Jackson, the Departmen~ would appreciate being iilformed as to thedat~ and\ hour -which wouid best suit his convenience. SHITH (AOTmG) 1_ ,.fi ", ~ .. ," /"" , UNCLASSIFIED ....... ;" . , ~ , (Security Classifi.cation) . I ji) , 4 ' C-1. APPROVED BY: r.-.=-- --------- 2-26-54 " .~ Leo G0""y''r--_______- -=o<::-' * 'MA1~"1 :.! . . ; ;~. ; * :,t:::'r.., '; J. . ' •• :J .. ~ ~ ~ ~ .. .. ::fv~ • k' ~ ~ ~ ~ --ATILJQ.UCH DO ,.oT TYPE IN THIS SPACE PRI O~RI c::':TY;--- FOREIGN f.1~-i£, 2Vlf/ 7- -f7~ ,-' :> FROM American Consula.te General, Accr~ TO TilE DEI'AllTME="T OF ST.\TE. WA'iUI:"(iTO:,/. SUBJECT- Visit to United St.s..tes of Head of Volta Hi ver Preparatory Commis:::ion :. - Concerninr; the final paragranh of the atove reference, Cor.unandc"r Jacy.son hasl . stated that the health problems which he wishes to discuss ,';ith off~als o.i the Uni ted States Public Health Service are in general tho se covered in a report prepared by Dr. Berner of Florida University who •• as in the Gold Coast some tiDe (l) a;o tc study ir..1plications of toe Volta Project fr~ m the health viewpoint. ~ Cornmancier Jackson forwarded a copr of Dr. Berner I s report to Dr. H. van Zile Eyrie, U1 ; Chief, Division of International Health, of the USPHS under cover of a letter of ~ June 4, 1953. • (\) With regard to housing problems, Commander Jackson said that he wished to m - obta~n, if practicable, some general views from USPHS about housing in hot ... .. ~ countries . ~ ......... J,\) ~~~~e Q) - U1 An:erican Consul ~ , [)/ ?J ' c-. , LJ I~ L 1-l_ b t3 ~ I -. . I, ".0 Willian! E. Cole/ram ,nNr;L~'3JFJJ.ID , _ 'J'l r .~ ~-..-~ __ f """""""""""'-~' ~ REPORTER ~ ..... , . " , , =E ACT10N,:Gc1vY :- j)'EP'AR'fl\U3l\Yp -OF: SJr,\ifE 0 The action office must return this permanent record copy to DC/a Hlcs \\ 1th nn endorsement or ncUon tnk('n. 'AIR roUCH PRIORITY FOREIGN FROM ~~erica~ Consulate General, Accra DESP. NO. TO THE DEPARTME:-IT OF STATE. WASHINGTON. .J ~/..z :; -to...". 'Yt2./v '-- REF Department's A-31, Janu~y 29, 1954. :'h- \' V .. For Dept. •" 'IL~ ,'Y:' ;L P ..... Use Only : ........ ' (z, . :..r+ '.'£: ,.a , . 5 > SUBJECT: Visi t to United States of Head of Volta River Preparatory Co mrni ss'i on • {.. V'( ) ,'? / j; /:?f71t.j'~ 3 id';'Tith reference to previous correspondence there is quoted belo~ 'the fex';:Of a ~;I letter of February 17, 1954, from Commander Jackson. "l~y dear Consul General, "I send you ,vith this two copies of a letter which I have addressed to AX. Gordon Clapp of the Tennessee Valley Authority. "In the note which I left with you on the 29th December, 1953, I men- tioned my hope that I could call on the Bonneville Power Authority at ~ Portland during the week commencing Monday, 3rd lviay, and that I would give • IT.0re exact dates for visitL~ Portland a little later on. "It is now definite that I shall be in Portla~d from Monday, 3rd May, until Friday, 7th May, and you might wish to inform Washington about this. Yours sincerely, /s/ R.G.A. Ja~ There is likewise enclosed for the Department's information a copy of a letter of the same date addressed by Jackson to Mr. Gordon Clapp, Chairman of the TVA. r--~~e-&-- William E. Cole American Consul // ~ Enclosure: 1/;/ , ;I ILetter of Feb. 17, 1954 "P - 0 1/ to l:r. Gordon Clapp. :::;:;1 ~ 1-4 r-~ \"""' -+ William E. Cole/ram ~ , '- :" [~·,_·,_ :mlCU0S~H\IEB ~.~,=:J ; - ~ :E :.Dl '_nr 0 ~ REPORTER AC~I~~ ~ ~6py~ _ hkp~R~M~Ji· 6P 'STATE Ii f The action o:tfice must return this permanent record copy to DC R file w ith n .l!.f.J..o __ +--"'>-,0.-________ age 0 Desp. No., _ _ _ I'rom'--_______ ___ a utJ-:: IASpIFI:tJ) ~" ~ ~ J , End. No 1 .J -, I' L '" (Cl4s51fic~tlonJ ) ) > ;' lhsp. No ]58 v ) ) " ") 0 ) "l J c ) F:;om Accra .... :2 2t ") I l L> ) ~ " 17th Fe bn:ar-.f , 1954. I Dear i:r. Clapp, I am writing to you about the Volt.a Hiver Project in the Gold Coast. For ease of reference I attach to this letter a copy of the Vfllite Paper about the schene which was published by the Eritish Government in November, 1952. About a year ago I was appointed as Special Commissioner to report to the British and Gold Coast Governments, and to the aluminiun companies, about the feas~bility of tnis scheme. Towards the end of last year Dr. ,Arthur morgan stayed with us for some weeks, and I believe that he has ~Titten to you about the project. I shall be visitins the united States in April of this year, a."ld I should very nmch lil-::e to corre and have a talk 'with you abo'll.t the project, and obtain the ' enefit of your experience and advice. The State Department has ac;reed that I should now 'Trite to you direct aoout the possibility of paying a visit to you in Knoxville. On my present pl ans I coc.ld visit Knoxville between Tuesday, 13th, cmd Thursday, 15th April, 1954. I can appreciate to some extent the pressure of work with which you have to deal, and I can readily uIlderstand the dates which I suggest may not be convenient to you. In ti1at case, I wonder whetner it would be possible for Die to have a talk wi th SOIre of the members of your staff? The ~4tters which I wotud like to discuss are not so much of a technical nature, but rather of a general character. In particular, I should like to talk about the type of organization and administration which Dlight be most suit~ble for this project. Yie have a considerable number of individual problems, and there are one or tv:o of these which I should also like to mention to you. I vronder whether you cOlJ.ld let me know, in due course, whether it would be ccnvenient ior me to come on the dates which I have suggested, or whether you would wish me to come at a different time. 'Wi th kindest regards, Yours sincerely, /s/ R. G. A. Jakcson rr. ·Jord.on Clapp, Chairrr.an, Board of Directors, Ten. ''lessee Valle," Aut~ori t.y, r .8 • ...-.• A1R roueH UKCLASSITIED fRIOi:'1 OF STAT~:. VASIH:>:GTO:>:. //' , : ~ fiEF Departl~en.ifs A-39 dated i.:arch 1, 1954 /, rO;-0pt. t' ,: / - - (. toe Only , . ;- SUBJECT Visit to United S~ates of rtead of Volta hiver ~eparatory CoIDDission L' :; . The airgram under reference asked this office for a coffiirmation of a tenta=-l ti,~ schedule of appointments set up for Cocrm~"'1der Jackson durin~ ~s cor.ing visit . to the United States. Cormrander Jackson approves in Lenoral of tee appointnents set up for hi:! with th~ Department of Interior and the U. S. PuoEc Health Service on h.;:>ril 7, 8, and 9. He state!3, however, that he is writins to the U. S. Public Health Service, with-! WhOII! ho has been in direct communication, to aSl~ that he be limited to tWD meeti."'l';;s "1th that organization, one on the aftermon of A:or~l 8 and the other on the IIDrn- inc of April 9. He will then bc free after 2:30 p.r.:. on j,pril 9 to meet with inter sted officers of the .&JCpartment, as sugcested in the final para~raph "of the ~ I'" aoov ref (~renCe. Commander Jackscm confirmed that he would be in Denver 0n April 27 tv confer with officials of the Bureau of h.eclw:ation. He also stated that he will arrive in Portland on th ev nine of May 3 a.'1d could confer 'vith Bonn~wille officials from L: y 4 to ray 7. • ror th ~cnartment's infcrmation, Jackson says that he will be residing in t ~hinGt:m with Senator Lchma."'1 at the Sh~rid n Park Hotel and that he win con- t ct ..r. t;tt r of M on his arrival. ;f Charles merica."'1 o 01 ~ I -.-J r TATE DO NOT TYPE IN THIS SPACE TO REF SUBJECT: Visit to United States of Head of Volta Preparatory Commission. : ; : The telegram under reference listed four main categories of problems concerning tropical housing that Co~mander Jackson wishes to discuss with U.S. experts during his coming visit to Washington. Jackson has subsequently mentioned five other points of less urgent importance that he also hopes to discuss at the proposed conference on housing. They are: 1) A list of organisations in the United States dealing with building research. 2) Information about surface finishes for mud walls. J) Comparative studies of the man-hours expended in putting up different types of buildings. 4) Any studies of daylighting or natural lighting for buildings in tropical climates. • 5) Selected social studies of indigenous rural com- mUIli ties. Commander Jackson also reports that Dr. George Macdonald of the Ros~ Institute of Trop ical Medicine, London o will accompany him to the United States as a special con-sultant on health problems. ~.. ' :" 1- r C'. C ) . -: Charles Wm. Thomas '-- . - American Vice Consul . ~ ~,~ 0. u v , '-- c - ,r Charles'l'lm. Thon:as/fot I Ui'J~LASSIFTr.D I _ -..::...J REPORTER" )-1)- - ~ --- -,,~« • , AC'nCN COpy ~ .. 1)EPAR'~~M:tN-~. OF) STATE J I. .J J ~ " , , ,!'I "\,, , • .... , ,(, · ·, ) ' ) , , . • , , ••• , , ) , > ,• • ··" • ) " ) 0) w )1t~ i'l/ / 1'5- ' ( In reply refor to J'F Dear Lada..n S<')cret1.~:y: l~e:)Grencc is ::nnde t.o thg seric:; of conferences on L;.or:.l 8-9, 1954, between officials of the United states PulJlic Health ~: er.rice and , Conr:vtnder !: . G. A. J[lckson, Chainr'!l at' the a:)ld Coact Volta Riv~r , j t.- {/!J- Preparatory (.,on.'ilission. :5r'" "Li ... .~ . ~ . ...: ;-'- / The Officer-in-Charge of t.ilO !~rlcrican Consulate Genera,1 a 't Leera, Gold l-oast, h::s informed the Venart':le!lt of State that he l1as received a letter from the Gold Coast l';iniEter of Def ense and -:cte::-nal Afi~irs u."lder date of A!)ril )0, 1954, reading as foUoi-ls: • "I have been requested ny the l"rime I-linister to convay to Y1)U an e.'{!)!'ession of this Government I s sincere apprecia- tion and ~titude for the aesistance which Commander Jackson, Chai.r!!lan of the Volta Fc.iver ? reoaratory COll~'Uission, i >/ and Professor Imcdol1..1.1d have described as having oecn EO /' generously extendej to the:n by t he lI.!nerican Authori tics during their recent discus dons in l!ash.i..nt;ton.1t I should like to ta..1.ce this opnortunity to e~re~s t he aonreci;>tion of th3 De:).:lrtlOlont of ~tate for t~e t i:ne and effort devoted. by tha United ~ tates ?ublic H3elth Service in t h3 iurtJ{france of <,:o$ll1lnder Jackson's IT'.hsion to the :Inited [ tates. '{he Departlnent of ~tate believes that the assistance rC:1d.ered Co:rn.ander Jackson orill add Great ly to the continuance of this cu un c,ryl S friendly relatiol"'-s , .. i th the Gold COOGt. o Sincere:iJr yours, For. the &ecretar'J of state: G \ . I (I (~ ~ ~ D. t~ornegan Acting Assistant 6ecretary . The Honorable Oveta Cul.p HObby,. I ui.u.cotion, and \' el£'are. .• •• o en : Dhcal.d l1lte to tab th1II oppcrtuait ,- alao to expre• • Jq «Ml tbaDka ter ,.our YfIr1 tiDe OOOperaUOIl 111 t.h1. _tter. ":"I S1Dcere1T Tour., .Tohrl I. Utter Director Office ot African At'fa!re ~. ,I < . . .. . I,'r' In reply refor to AF fmfere'1ce is l:lade to the series of conferences on April 7-8, 1954, tetwecn offici~ls of the I;eoartnent o!: the Interior and CO:!llnancler TI. Li. A. Jackson, Chai.r;nan of the Gold Coast Volta r1.iver Preoaratory Co :11'I.":rl.ssi on. S u (:", ,- _, 2 6/ C'/~-- t/:.-:.-' / The Officer-in-Chargo of the A.rnerican CoO'.sulate Gener"-l at Accra, Gold Coast, has in!'onned the De;Jartmcn'l', of ftata that he !"..as roceived a latter from tho Gold Coast l-anister of Dei'ensa and ii..xterrru Ai·fairs under data of April 30, 1954, reading as follows, "I have been roq'.l.estecl by the Prirne r:inister to convey to you an expression of this Gov9rrrnent's oincare apprecia- tion and gratitude for t Ile assistance which (;olmuander Jackson, Chainaan of the Volta River Preparatory COm:"~ssion, and Professor l'~acdonald hnve described as having boen 80 eenerously extended to the.'ll "b , , c ...to .-- " 0-)..~. \,p.. '-1.. .. v -..., r_ t' I ~ _ • r [.1 " " ~ I !.r t.-1 e f41 [;(:' -"0-' ....... ~ ::1 ........ (I) A< 01 c+ I 0 ~ 01 ~ Charles Wm. Thomas American Vice Consul. (i< Enclosure: As stated. L Charles Wm. Thomas/;;Uc~., " l REPORTER ) , ) ,) -' J J -'" ,,' A('TiON; COP-Y -r-J DEP'A~TMEN.T ~OF STATE / \ j --- The action office must return this permanent recor co oDC n.p. No, ___~ Pmm~· ______________~ . __ UNCLASS!!I~_~_J ... . .• (V:l.a.J l ;~(af'OH) . ., • ' • • , ~ ~ • oJ." f" I I.' . I . .... ,.. ,j , MINISTRY OF DEFENCE AND EXTERNAL AFFAIRS No. B.5 P.O. BOX 1115 ACCRA. 30 April, 1954. Sir, I have been requested by the Prime Minister to convey to you an expression of this Government's sincere apprecia- tion and gratitude for the assistance which Commander Jackson, Chairman of the Volta River Preparatory Commission, and Professor Macdonald have described as having been so generously extended to them by the American Authorities during their recent discussions in Washington. I have the honour to be, Sir, Your obedient Servant, (Sgd) Norton Jones Minister. The American Vice-Consul, American Consulate-General, A c c r a. L . L'· trnCLASflIFIED ~ , I , -~----~~- , ACTION • . 1 I~ assignee 10 Dear 1ft' 0 Secretary: This is to acknowledge the Acting Assistant Secretary. s letter of :May 14, 1954, advising me of the expression of appreciation from the Government of the Gold Coast for the assistance given Commander Robert G. A. Jackson, Cha.irman of the Volta River Preparatory Commission, and his advisor, Professor George Macdonald, during their recent discussions in Washington. • I assure you that the Department was happy to be able to discuss with these gentlemen the health, hOUSing, and developmental problems in underdeveloped areas and to receive from them a current insight into the political, social, and cultural factors which in- fluence the solution of these problems. Sincerely yours, 0 0::: to u--J ~ z ~ ~ 4: U The Honorable .,U \,U Z COl (!) Secretary of State <1 './) ~ Washington 25, D. C~ :J) u.-J ...,. ~ '£ .,.... ( ......... -. (Jl . . ..... . . ., , , (N · o • 0 ., · . 0 0 , 0 • J , , , v .~, 0 0 0 0 0 0 J J " · 0 0 0 Dear Mr. Fe1d, < • When Commander Jackson of the Volta River Project Preparatory COmmiaSe"O was here in April he discussed rith Hiatt of the D rtment of the Im;erior the possi- bility of H. o. Wal er, Chief hleteoro19gl..st .of the Gold Coast, coming over a't the beginning of i~t for discuasions with the Weather Bureau. The Colonial Office have now asked ~ to approach you so that we can complete the arranganents. If it is convenient to the TIeather Bureau \/alker would like to start his visit to the United States during the first week in August. He would l:ike to visit the research e'tation at Lake Mead as he is most anxious to ob1;ain the maximum infonnation on how the problems of evaporation have been met here. It is Ttith a view to obtaining da'ta much will assist the Volta River Project Prepara'tory ComrrctEsion in dealing with its probable evaporation difficulties that \'[aJ.kB I' is being sent over to the United States. ~ • _ 10::-' I shall be grateful if you will let all conce:n3ed::5 know about -;ialker1 s visit. If the tiule is suitable perh~s Hiatt «ould be kind enough to make the necessary ar~g~ menta for Wal.~erls stay. i:: ~ "- Q) I am enclosing a duplicate copy of this letter in case you wish to send it on to Hiatt. I CO .'0. U't.J " C5l .. U'Jl Yours sincerely, ~ f?~cil~ 1'. H. Ba.J.me~ Mr. Nicholas Feld~ for Colonial Attache. African Division, \ Department of State. --_...~ f 't._ ___ o (j) -l : 2 '1 _______ ' ."0 . ..» .» , ... . . .. .... .... ... . ... .. . . . .. .. . .. . , , . .. , ., , , , , . , , . , , (j 195.1 In reply refer to AF Dear Mr. Balmer: Reference is made to your letter of June 8, 1954, concerning the proposed visit of };ir. H. O. t]a1ker of the Gold ; Coast to the United States far discussions ldth the United States Weather Bureau. The matter \18.6 referred to Mr. William E. Hiatt, Chief, Hydro- logic Services Division of the loJeather Bureau, and the pertinent portions or a letter received frQ1l him under date or July 2, 1954, are quoted belov: - tlCanmander Jackson of the Gold Cmst Volta River Prepara- tory Commission discussed .d.th us the proposed. visit of Mr. H. O. Walker, Chief' Metearologist of the Gold Coast, OJ to the United States for discussions on the evaporation ~ pr-oblero. Commander Jackson 1.'8S assured tbe.t \Ie lJould be 01 most happy to haYe Mr. \o.hl.ker visit the Weather Bureau /\ and to make aw.iJ.able to him any information 'Which we • might have that yould be of value. I'J Q) "The proposed date of the visit to begin the first week --a.. ~ in August is satisfactory to us, alt hcugh -we believe ~:.-~~-- ~ that if Mr. k'alker 'Wishes to visit Lake Mead he should ....... probably also inclu:le a stop at Denver in his itinerary. (l) Umer these circumstances,· \Ie vould suggest that he allow I a mi:nilIlum or 10 days, am perhaps prererably tva weks, OJ far his visit. c.n ~ "We have had tentative discussions with the Bureau of Recl.aJation about Mr. walker's desire to visit lake Mead, am can assure you that arrangements wUl be made far such a visit. o o -+ Ch L' Mr. P. H. Balmer, -f British Embass.y, :noo Massachusetts Avenue, N. 'W., \<.ashington, D. C. . ,, , ,, ,, , , •, , ,,. , , ., I , ,I , I . , l , .., ,, , , , , I ., ... " , , \ \ ... ) , , , . -2- "We bel1en the appartioDDeDt of Mr. lrlallrer' s time might be JIlO8t etfectin it be followed a schedule saDewhat as tallovs: 3 or 4 da"s in the Washington office of the Weather Bureau 1 day travel time to Den'n!r 1 day in Denver 2 daY'S at Lake ¥..ead 1 day travel time returning to \.1ri~l!; tnc first wecl, in !.u::u.st. Fr . .. [llker :i::-dl li.'(c to visit t~e research ststiO!1 at La]-e !-.ooQ. as lC is l':lost t:l.~·:.i::",.!s to o_t.!.in the r.;tlxi:-.lU:':J. ir;ior_:''ltio!l on n:m '~he nrcele-~f 'Jf 6Wlf'Jr.:.tio:1 have \)Ce:1 :::et in th~,::;- country. It.:.s ~:i til n \rlc-; to o. t~:i nin-; d~u: \[:ri.C;-l ~:ill I!sdst t'1S "olt:~ il-iY.;!r I rC7'ar~t::Jr-J Go. ,:::isdo:1 in jcJ.li~~ ... it~ its n~cuble 6vnn:.retion dii'::-icultiar. t..1at •. r . .. .J.l!:er is tJai!:![ se:Tr. to the lbited ~ Ultes. If t'~e tL",:'3 in ::-J.it,..'1,;lc, t',e \!::·lo:'licl ' tt.:.c1 f ~':':::'Dct::; t:1.3.t perm?s :,..~a 'tJoulJ ~n ':in': c!1ot!-h to :1- . ~ t::e vo:.c('~::s.:z.::r c_=-:.'~::·J~;;:-.:.ts for ! r. ,,,ll: ::::r' s st.;!y. o C- O r·-:-ic holfl ~ :to old Gf:icer-i~~harGe \ oct, Gentru.l ~l!d !..3~t Lfricar L.f!nirs iat.:., 6."... 2 1-..;..>. ,4~ - ,-; July 2, 1954 0-6 Mr. Nicholas Feld Officer-1n-Charge West, Central. and East African Affairs Department of state Washington 25 , D. C. Subject: Proposed visit of Mr. H. o. Walker of the Gold Coast to the - Uo.1ted states for discussions with the Weather Bureau. Reference: Your letter dated JUne 22, 1954, File AF. \ Dear Mr. Feld: Ccmnander Jackson of the Gold Coast Volta River Preparatory Camn1saion dis- cussed with us the proposed visit of Mr. H. o. Walker, Chief Meteorologist of the Gold Coast, to the Uo.1ted states for discuss10na on the evaporation problem. CCIDI!lAJlder Jackson we e.asured that ve would be most happy to have Mr. Walker rteit the Weather Bureau and to make available to him any infor- mation whIch we might have that vould be of value. ,/" -~ • '!he proposed date of the visit to begin the first week in August is satia- I\) factory to us, although we believe that if Mr. Walker vishes to vUit Lake (J) Mead he should probably also include a stop at Denver in his itinerary. Under these circumstances, we would suggest that he a1lov a minimum of 10 days, and perhaps preferably two veeu, for his visit. We have had tentative discussions vith the Bureau of Reclamation about )fro walker's desire 10 visit Lake Mead, and can e.asure you that arrangements will be made ior such a visit. We believe the apportionment of Mr. Walker'. time might be most effective if he followed a schedule saoewhat as follows: ( , ~ a 3 or 4 days in the washington off1ce of the Weather Bure~ 1 day travel time to Denver 1 day in Denver 2 days at Lake Mead 1 day travel time returning to Washington o Cf) Additional t1:e over that listed above could be spent effectively in the -f We.ahington office of the Weather Bureau if Mr. Walker has with him SOOle of ---the necessary observational data fran the Gold Coast area. t.ftfVe v111 look forward to seeing Mr. Walker and the opportunity to discuss '-;. { JllUtually important problem. (t ,. .., ,= .'k, %:J it{~3l"y oula I. , . .. , .... :,.G ,'_/~ r-- o;i / 11am t. Hiatt, Chief l ~----~------------------------~~~~~~ ~Jtl~ ~~-------------- "' ., .. '\- ~::). .... .... ) , , -+ - ... .. ... , , J ,,, .., JtI fl ~ .... 0 go "' "' , ... , " .... . ) l I' July 619~' In repl7 reter to J.F ' Dear Mr. Hiatt: , I __ . _ ' .. :_ I vish to acknowledge the receipt or .,.our letter ot Jul,. 2. ~rJ .. ,., 1954, aDd to intora ,-ott that the intormation contained therein baa been traDSllitted to the Office of the Colonial Attach& at the BriU sh Embassy. Sincerely .,.our8~ Nicholas Peld Officer in Charge · Vest, Central and Fast African Att'a1ra Hr. llUl.1aa R. H1att, Chief, lf1drologic Service. Division, United States Weather Bureau, Washington 25, D. C. ~~0 j ,';.l NEA:AF:JJDurnan:deh 7/6/54 -. ~xV-·_ - . SlS·,C .R ;"', . e ' p. .... " .. tJl; . ~' > • .w. -.• • "'t I . ~ . • ••• ATE INSTRUCTION , , lassificatio1l) NO.: A-2, July 19, 1954 SUBJECT: Letter of Appreciation from Commander R.G.A. Jackson to Charles William Thomas, American Vice Consul, Accra Gold COAst. 1 ; I - - / TO: Ainez-iean Consulate General, ACCRA, GOLD COAST 1 / / 7 ,"\,:)1 / J t1 y(j . r- / Reference is made to the Consulate GeneralIs deaoatch no. 3 of July 1, 1954, transmitting a letter written by Co~nder R.G.A. Jackson of the Volta River Project Preparatory Commission expressing his appreciation for the cooperation he received from various personB and agencies during the course of his recent visl t to the United States. Copies of Commander Jacksonls letter have been transnitted to the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, the Depa~~~ent of the Interior and to the Tennessee Valley Authority. In so far as the Department is concerned, you may assure Comnander Jackson that it was a pleasure to be of assistance to him, and that the officials interested in Gold Coast affairs were deeply appreciative for his devoting the time from an otherwise heavy schedule to discuss the Volta River Project with them. DUI.LE:S It ~t\ . 4.. . - , / • ";:,,# ~.-- ! l.,'a "-- --_. .- Lr .~ UNCLASSIFIED (Security Classification) DRAFTED BY: APPROVED BY: NEA.zAF:JJDur 7-15-54 CLEARANCES: •• __. ' AIR POUCH UNCLASSIFIED .; PRIORITY ~'-( i .)~., ,;')' 0 ,,0 JS~cuTity, 'C,laspJi'(atio'h) .~ ... FO RE I GN S E Ev~ j C.E Ll E SP~Ari'..cH ) ~ ~) ),J ,).:>..) v V ,).J ,) ,.... ) ,J.:'I ;~ ,) ,) ) FROM AMCONGEN, Accra, Gold Coast ____~ ~~--~----~~~~--~~LJ~. DESP. NO. TO TIlE DEPARTMENT OF STATE. WAS HINGTON. Jul 9 /' \....w\~ fv-.wyUh ~. IJfw DATE /, REF \"'-~"""'" t ~ INtvl.k ~ 111A -111~/S..f!/:- 1- ACTION For Dept. ;V J1~ t{- Use Only REC'D a 1--/ SUBJECT: Transmitting a Letter 'jvritten by the Head of the River Project Preparatory Commission. There is transmitted a letter written by C Commander R.G.A. Jackson of the Volta River Project~ Preparatory Cow~ission expressing his appreciation • for the cooperation he received from various persons and agencies in the United States during his recent visit there. C-/~ Charles Wm. Thomas American Vice Consul Enclosure: 0s stated. ~ L ~ ~ JC harles wm.Thorr.as/ak~, ~uL~~c~~~;] ~ ;" ~'. r REPORTER • / [' , AC1~Ol\~:~d~y~ - btpA.Rird~~~· 6F~~T~TE o~ J , The action office must return this ermanent recor coQ.y- Desp. No ___ UNCLASSIFIED Encl. No.--,l_ _ F~~ ______________~ , . ... ((:1qp;pcat,oJl/ .;--:-~,.-J •• J • l)esp. No.--,,3_-:-. FromACCRA, Gold C~t. .. ".' .. Volta River Project Preparatory Commission P. O. Box 2305, Accra Gold Coast SPECIAL COMMISSIONER 6th July, 1954. Dear Mr. Thomas, Now that I have returned to the Gold Coast from my recent visit to the United States, I should like to take this opportunity of expressing my deep appreciation for the many facilities which were put at my disposal by the Government of the United States. In particular, I should like to thank the State Department for the arrangellients which they made for me to talk with various Departments and to have discussions with the Tennessee Valley Authority and those concerned with the development of the Columbia River. In particular, I wish to record the exceptional assistance which we have received from the United States Public Health Service in considering the problems of health and sanitation associated with the Volta River Project. I know that Dr. Nkrumah has already written to Mrs. O.C. Hobby about this, and I also wish to add my own appreciation. The officials concerned with the Tennessee Valley Authority could not have been more helpful to me, and subsequ..;:;ntly they have provided most useful information to us. Similarly both at Portland with the Bonneville Power Administration, and at Ephrata with the staff of the Columbia Basin Irrigation Project, I received unstinted help and assistance. Nor would it be fitting to omit from this expression of appreciation reference to the endless hospitality and kindness which was extended both to my wife and myself throughout our visit. L If the /~ I; .... . " .. .. . ., ., ., . " o:.sp. No. ___ Page 4. ot From.:·.. .________ Encl. No.--",l~_ •1 I . I UNCLASSIFIED " , .I . (Pt1,fsi6i'r1I10pJ ' 1. ,. . Oesp. No. ___3_ __ ., .. . ,.. . ., . From ACCRA, Gal d Coast , , , , , If the Department of State sees fit, I should be very grateful if my appreciation could be extended to those Departments and Authorities whom I have mentioned. Yours sincerely, (Sgd) R.G.A. Jackson Mr. C. Thomas, Acting Consul-General for America, Accra, Gold Coast. L , .. " ,J .. J , " J , J' " ,I ~ J L'-_~--7--"7 --;-"--~---T--7: ~J _ , '" ) )j J)J JJJ.J •• .1 • • ,J . J 11 ~,.~ :. ~ ... ., lIo . ' 31 • a-'!) . •oZ lll • • 0'''' :i1ef: lJ..25/-h!. BY n2J~D GiSr BRITISH EMBASSY WASHINGTON 14th July, 1954 . ,.., - .J:, , lJ~ /:.-' Dear ... ........ Durnan, , Please refer to I.lr. Feldts letber, dated Ju,ly 6, addressed to i·.:r. Balm8r, concerning the proposed visit of LIr . H.O. ~ ;ar~er of tho Gol d Coast to the United States for G,iscussions nith the U. S .·,:eather Bureau. 1':e advised :.:r=. . \'!aV:er by cable of the schedule sugGesteCi by i.ll'. ;-: . iIiatt and have been advised 'chis morninG that i:lr. rfal ker "ill arrive in '.7ashington I' on AUGust 7 at 11, :48 hours. • I- 1iay I suggest that arrangements be made for .l I'.Ir . ':inlker to see IJr. Hiatt on r\ionda~T morninG' Ausu.st 9, to discuss his pro[ra~me. .t re are very s rateful to you and I,: .r. Hiatt for the faciE ties that are being made available to illr. ~;alke r. Youxs sincerely, /n,/3. ~ I,;. =. Cooner, Assistant to Colonial Attache. ;,U' . J. F . i.)urn~!1, Department of State, 2002 :;'ieu State Buil ding, 21st and Vir.::;inia Avo. nue, ;'[ as hington, D. C. \ lJJ ....... :'i/'1 -- r ...... :::> - ..... rt. , • » .. r~ 1" fr' "''1\'1 '.= .. . •': 1j.". !k'".J. .of ,u ~, , , l-- 'w \,..1. ;.J,j ........ .,, ..,.. . .., . . » July 191954 In reply" refer to AF r- - ! ~ I >-, , _ _I ,.J ;;; / / ,I !, .~ ~ .: tear ~.r. Secretary: g. ., '" .,f: . 2- G ~ . t -...;- _" . I ' / Reference is :lade to my letter of !J.ay 14, 195h, concerning the Ol expression of appreciation received fro~ the ~ove~~nt of t~£ Gold ~ COl1~t fer the assistance given to Co~ Robert G. A. Ja.ckson 01 of tht! Volta River Project hepar-atory Commission on his recent A ' \ visit to the United States. • t I'J: There 18 enclosed a copy of a letter addressed to the Officer rn ~; in Charee of the A.."r!erlean Consulate General at Accra by Comn.ander Jackson expressi.ng his O"..m appreciation for the assistance which ~~ ......... 1 he reeeiTed from varloU$ L'OVernrnent &beneies. , .1" -...J~ I Sincerely yours, ~ -- For the Secretary of ::'tate: to 01 ~ John D. Jerne£',8.n Deput)" A.sdstant Secretary Enclosure: Copy of a letter from COLnander G. f. . Jackson. ., liou,:1as I ! . :message conveyed to the appropriate officials of tho Tennessee .. " , Valley Authority. ~:t. Sincerely yours." John E. Utter Director Office of African Affairs / Enclosure: / :,CoPY' of , letter troIa jo; )Commandor G. A.. Jackson. / o - (" NEA.:AF:J~~nan:.l£ .m ...•.• • .. ... . • .• ..· ;r.-.1 5 --5.4 ...· ··.. ·• ..... . .. .0 . ·• · ·. · .. .. ... · ... . .•• • • • 0 .. .. ·• ·• · • • 0 · ·0 ·. ·• FROM TO TIlE D E P A RTMENT OF STATE. WASHINGT O N. REF DEPT. ~ ge P--). {)ell:. - }.. ~~--+----i F OTHER -'--------\...LL-'--1 -~ 0 6 w,.~ Co/)) -~ 1-0 SUBJECT : Visit by Representatives of Aluminium Limi~er.-~ / The Preparatory Commission for the Volta River Project announced that discussions would be held in October with represent8.tives of Aluminium Limited to consider the planning of the township which would need to be built for an alumina factory and smelter, if a decision were eventually taken to proceed with the Volta River Project. It is anticipated that Aluminium Limited will send a Mission of five or six technical experts to the Gold Coast, and that they will be led by one of the senior Directors of Aluminium Laboratories, a subsidiary of Aluminium Limited. Arrangements have been made for Dr. Otto K-o-e-n-igsberger to work with the Preparatory Commission during the month of October, and he will be available to participate in these dis- cussions with Aluminium Limited . Dr. Koenigsberger has just completed a study for the Nuffield Foundation of the London School .of Tropical Medicine. He played a leading part in the development of the city of Jamshedpur in India, which provides accommodation for the staff end workers of the Tate steel industry. \'lhen he has completed his work with the Preparatory Commission, Dr. Koenigsberger \dl1 become one of the members of the United Nations Technical Mission on housing, which is due to start \'/ork in the Gold . Coast at the beginning of November. Arrangements have also been made for representatives of the consulting engineers to the Volta River Preparatory Commission to participate in these discussions. The Govern- ment and the Preparatory Commission have emphasised that the discussions must be regarded as provisional and only for the purposes of planning. Policy decis i ons can only be taken by L the The action oruce must return this permanent record copy to DC;R files with an endorsement of action taken. the Government and the aluminium companies at the time of the main negotiations, which \yould decide whether the entire Volta scheme was to be undertaken or not. Richard V. Fischer American Vice Consul AIR POUCH UNCLASSIFIED PRIORITY ~ ~, " (Stfurity, c4usjp..72li'}117 FOREIGN SER:v;rC3: D:ESP-A 1'SB' . ) -- > ..., ~ , .... ) ........ ' ' ', ., FROM A1wiCONGEN, Accra, Gold Coast TO THE DI EPARTIIIENT OF STATE. WASIIINGTON.. October 7, 1954 ~ DATE .... ,,/. REF ! ~~~ IOf'r' I M .... l""M1,~~ ~ D~E1PT'. -- ~ Oc,/~-2- tJ/..,/,& E-~f? ' ~ ~0--~---I - O_/'Z-.° Ce,lfi- r' //-s- '-.- ~ ~ SUBJECT: Express~of Appreciation for Facilities Extended. ~ Mr;~rn H.O. Walker, Chief Meteorologist of the Gold Coast. n~ "'t) rn ,I , I :, ~I <. o ;X) The officer in charge has been requested by '" Comm~~der Jackson of the Volta River Project Preparatory Commission to express appreciat.icn to the Department of State for facilities which were extended to J.lr. H.O. Walker, Chief Meteorologist of the Gold Coast, during • his stay in the United States. He also expressed thanks to the United States "leather Bureau, Bureau of Reclama- tion and the United States Geological Survey for the facilities placed at Mr. "'Talker's disposal and for their very valu8tle help and advice. n ' B Consulate General has given assurances t.hat the Department of State and other agencies wil l be informed of his appreciation. o I -..I 01 ~ C' .. I tr\ 4~df.U~ . :x: u Richard V. Fischer z .r I- e '.. ~j L.. c: ....::;- .. , t'~ C,o-' L 1-:' I • -t RVF laks. UNCLASSIFIED " " 1 o REPORTER ~ -;I ~ ACTION -:OFY -- DE~A!ITM~N1~ OR STATE L..-____'1- 1--I'e...a=c:=tIo;.D.:o:=IIl1:e must return th1a permanent record COll~iIJl/;:.c&.awL..IIIIJt.b..&II..fi!Il>d.aioIe.lll.e.nt..oLa.ctlon..t.sJum _______ ,- .' · ··· .. . ... . . · . . . .. ..· ... ··. . ~ ... .. . · . • HEMORANDUlot FmERIG. am. A. J. OOODPASTlla THE \-IiiI'l'E HOUSE f \.. • ~ ' " c Fieber Hove D1rectar Execut.1" Secretariat. lihclosurea : ~. ~ted reply. ~l 2. Letter from Prl.me Min1ster ~~ ~.~17.1~? \ AIel- I I \ t..'5C---- . / \a~-- t - t ----- AJi' :A.FS :DDumont :rmcp 10/31/57 Retyped in S/S-RO 11/5/57 NI~/A F - Mr. Palmer ··. . ..• . . . .• .• ·• • • •• ••• •• . .. . • • • • • •. •• ) ) · • • • • • • I • •• ··• • . ··. , . . ·j, . .. •. • ) J • • • " • • . "• • -' . . ··.. . . . • • ·• . .. . • · • . .. ·. . ·. . • ·· ·. ·· ·· ·.. . ·· ·· \ MiXORAI{WH FOR BRIG. GEN. A. J. GOOI.FASTER · \ TIE WHITE HOOSE I. Subject I Sugaested llaply From the President to Letter From Glanaian Prime Minister Kwama UkNDah BegUding Volta RiTer Project. \ \ there 18 encloeect a proposed rep~ the President m1gb.t \,! ld.eh to .end t1¥ Prima ~8te1" Nkrumah 1n answer to the \ latter'. letter o! October\ 17• 1957 rega,rding the Volta \ R1:veJ:' Project. \ \ 't \ P1s\e1" Howe ~ctor EltecutJ.ve "t"retariat , Fnclosure. t '\ 1. Su&gestad repl¥. \ \ 2. Letter dated October 17. 19S? tr'Clll (bane.1an Pr1me M1nieter '\ ltMilUlt Iilcntmah. \ \ N\E \ ~­ A;I{~ ~ - fl . Palmer AF:AFS:DDumont:nncp 10/31/57 k ··. · ·· .. ·· ·· ·• .. . . ·• . . ·•. .· .. .. •• . ·.. ... •• • • • a ·• •• • .• a •a · ·a. a • • • • • • · .. .. · ·• • • " ... ·• • ··. . ·.... . .• . . ...<. . .. . • • · . • . . • . . ··. . .. . ... • . ··• · SUGGESTED RliPr;y Dear Pr1n1e ~linls tel" . ~~r;.., Thank you very much for 1o~ letter of Ootober~ regarding the Volta River Projeot and encloBing the Report of the Preparatory CQu~ssion. As a result· ~.r the Vice President's trip to Ghana ear11er this year end m::/ 8ubaequent talks 1!.Yi th him and with Mr. G"bedemah, X teel that I have acquired a certain rami11aritl with your vital ' new nation. I am sure you know that your country ha6 our beat wishes for sueoess in lta efforts to solve its problems and to realize its aspiration. for a peaoerul, stable and pl~BperouB future. Sincerely, The Honorable Dr.. Kwame NkrUJ:nlil,h, Prime Minister of Gb.e.na. Aocra. AF:AFS:DDumont:r.mcp 11/1/57 Retyped in s/s-RO 11/7/57 liBAjAF - Mr. Palmer • • , ··. . • ··. . . .. , , . ·, . . • .. .. > ... , . ··· · ·..· .·• · , , ...• ·,• ·. ·• . • · •, ., . • > ·• • » ·• i' " . 4 •- . ·· ' ·... . . . . . •• • ··.. · · . .. .". .. . . .. . ·.. · · • •••·• ·• • • ·-·• . .. ·. . ·· · 0 ~. · SUGGES'I'F.D r~?LY Y, Thank y~",v,e 17 Much tOt' your letter of Ootober 17 . regarding the Vo 1"t"·a . . ai vel' Pl'"O jee t B..."ld encloaing tbe lieport or "-~~ prepar~ry Commission. As a result of th~ "10'eP~sidentl. trip to Ghana \. . earlier this year and my ~.quent talks with htm and \ . witb Mr. Obedeiuh, I ,feel th«,t I have ga1ned a good \, fe:mU1ar1t1 or your vltalnew nation.. I am sure tl.'lAt 's: ! you know that yoUI' count17 has out" evert good ~.1.h for success ill tta el".t'ol'ta to aolv. its pro'bleJl14 and to ree.llze ita &ap1rat1o-na tor a p ••o etul. _table tmd proaperoua tuture. Sincerely, fhe HOQOl"8.ble 1>r. Kwame Nlc1tumah. ~rL~ M1nister or Ghana, Acora. AF:AFS:DDumont:r.mcp 11/1/57 Retyped in S/S-RO 11/~/57 NEA/AF - Mr. Palmer ·. · ··.. " .. . ··. . • · .••. ..· · ·• • • . . ·· ... ··.. . ·. ·. · · .· ·. ·• .. ,• • ··· » • » Of .. ~ ·. ·· SUOOES'1'ED REPLY .... ~, 'l'bank ;you Tery IlUch tor 70ur letter of October 17 \ regarding tlJe Volta River Project and also tor bein& 80 ldnd \ as to lend me\ the ~port at the Preparatory CClIllIlIission. \ ' 18 a resul\ ot the Vice President t IS trip to Ghana earliel' \ this year and my -a\sequent t~e with him and with Mr. Gbedemah, ~ I teel that, I ha. ... ~ed a good tam:JHarity ot ;your vital nev , nation. 1 all sure that you know tha.t ;your countr;y haa oUl' ~ '~ .....1 7 good. wish tor aucce,sa in ita .ttorts to 801ve ita - '" probl~ and to realize ita aspirations for a peaceful, .tabl. '''~ and prosperous tut\U'"a. '\... . .. Sinc.rel1' ;YOUN, . , \ \. Th. Honorable Dr. , __ NkrIDab, Prtm. Kini.ter ot Ghana; ;,1 ~. ". .. Accra. ~ AF:AFS:DDlim\t :rrilCp 11/ 1/57 NEAlh F~ Palmer '.' v i} ~o r, .'';.1 .> .' , '1. , r " ( • .ted ReplT Fraa the 1<' • Pl"8sident, to ., '~- t~l' From Ghanaian Prlpie H1D1ster Kwam.. ":" <,' : .' ;/ ,.;. ',~ ne~ Vo1~lt1vel' Projeot. ;,~,,;i~t:1'.~·;;f:': ,I.: , .; f .-.}~ '''- -, ".- '" :po~jrep~ the Vic. ~~i~~'" .-: " 2. t.ttet' daW, Qctober 17. 19'" , fi"Qll Ghanaian Primet H1ni&tel" .,': ~";W:'::";:~.i''';~''1;;;''~ :::=:~~)!~0f\:~~;el~: '. " .,' NEA/AF-~ Palmer ·. (.:. . ·· .. • .• $_ _ a.. ..... -... . '.. • ... e .• . . ... - .. ... .. · . 0 .. . ~.! ~ ~ . _. ·. •• • • . . •. .. . . " ... .... . .. ..... ... ..-;;.: . • • . . ·· · .•• •. ••. ..• .•.• .• .·• ... . . • .• ••,.'.•.. '. SUOOESTED R&PLt DII&1" Mr. Prime Kin1stera I want to thank you tor your interesting letter ot Oct.ober 17 regarding tbe Volta River Project, u well &I tbe accaa~ TOlume devoted t.o the Bbport ot the Preparato17 CO!lIIlinion. I cberbtl the memory of. rq T1.e1t to Ghans. on the occasion ot Gbanaian 1nd.pen~ce and. I hope that mq meet again in the not too diehnt. future. S1nc.re~ TOurs. The Honorable Dr. lwaJy Nkl'Ul2l&b, Prime ~ster ot Ghana, Aoera. . $-" -. ~~ . b AF:AFS:DDumont:nncp ~ ... • . .. . .. .. . , .. ·•· ·• .. .. . .·. .·. ..... . ... • 0.. .. . . .. . ... .' :. . , • (' r.. '(' ,~ . .~ ~ '1 ,! .. ,tt t§.. 1. .. ' ",,.. L .. I~ ," .. EMBASSY OF" G HANA 213Q R STFH:t:.T. N . W. WASHINGTON. D. C. is a ss igned to rI . rv The Amb.ss.dor of Ghan. presents his .!:-- CJl compliments to the Secretary of State and has /' a~~~_~; the honour to refer to the letter of the Prime 1\) 0 , Minister of Ghana, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, of March 14, 1959, addressed to the American Ambassador in Ghana, His Excellency Wilson C. Flake, concernin9 the Reassessment Report on the V'"o lta River Project. (T ([ A memorandum on the question of financing the construction of the dam and power installation at Kosombo is hereby sUbmitted. The Ambassador of Ghana avails himself of c: (f' this opportunity to renew to the Secretary of ':/-\-. ..- -...... -~ State the assurances of his highest consideration. ~l'ashington, D.C. 11th May, 1959. ~ ~ ~ 14 37JG]~ .. · .... . . . .. . ... .. . ·· . 0 · 0 ·· ··. . · ··. • ... .. 0 0 • 0 0 0 0 0 0 • 0 ., :~--11 II · . .J'<1-~'" · · ·. ·. .. . . .. . .. . .. . • ... .. 0 ·. • • .• . .• .. ··• · ·... . ··• •·· 2 1 g R ""'ttT.N. W W ASH ' NQ,.ON . D C. In the j oint statement i ssued by Pr es ident Ei senhower and Prime Minister Nkrumah on 26th July, 1958, it was noted that the t wo Governments agr eed that it would be des i r able to bring up t o date the engineering reports on the Volta River Project which were prepared in 1955, and to share the cost of this undertaking. The Government of Ghana appreciates the kind spirit in which the Government of the United States of America made its initial generous offer to finance half the cost of bringing up-to-date the engineering reports of 1955. The Government of Ghana is equally pleased with the results of the study conducted by the Kaiser engineers. This Reassessment Report is a concrete result of friendly coopera- tion between our two Governments. - . II F The Government of Ghana is convinced that the Government of the United States of America is fully aware of the fact t hat democratic institutions can only flourish in a society Vlhere t he greatest possible number of the people have the opportunity to secure a decent standard of living for themselves and their families. The Volta River Project and the Second Five-Year Development Plan are both designed, above all, to give opportunity to the people of Ghana to build a life fully in conformity with /their aspirations •••••••••• · ..... . .0 ·0 ·• • ··· . ... . . • ... ·• ··· . . . .. ··· ·.. . ... . .. • 0 00 • ·• · ·. . ...• . . ·• ··• .. • .- . ·. . ~. . . ..• ••• . .,.,. : -'. '¥"'\., ; ... • . .·• . .•. ••• • . · · • ··· ·• ... . their aspirations and expectations. The Government of Ghana further believes that in the task of promoting and strengthen- ing peace, prosperity and stability based upon international '0 justice, its interests are identical with those of the Government of the United States of America. This identity of interests is illustrated by the fact that shortly after the visit of the Prime Minister of Ghana, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, to the United States in July, 1958, the Government of Ghana, in cooperation with the Government of the United States of America, entered into a contract with the Henry J. Kaiser Company for a reassessment of the 1955 reports on the Volta River Project. This study by the Kaiser engineers was completed and presented to the -"..~-~ ....- --- Government of Ghana on February 27, 1959. On March 14, 1959, the Prime Minister of Ghana, Dr. Nkrumah, addressed to the Ambassador of the United States of America to Ghana, His Excellency Wilson C. Flake, a letter together with a copy of the Reassessment Report prepared by the Henry J. Kaiser Company; in this letter the Prime Minister of Ghana stressed the desire of his Government to seek the assistance of the Government of the n 7* it It'll · United States in its effort to interest industries which would be large consumers of power generated from the Volta River and also in working out a plan for the financing of the construction of the dam and power installation at Kosombo. On the first request, the Government of Ghana notes with gratitude the steps already taken by the Government of the United States through its Department of Commerce in publishing in the Foreign Commerce Weekly of April 20th, 1959, a summary of the Reassessment Report, which drew to the /attention of •••••••••• .. .. ..... . .• 0 • . .. .. . . ... .... . .. ....... ... .. "... ._ _. .., - I me » .0 . , ...... \ .. , . . .• ',. .•• • 'r',._ i ..... ' • .., •• ,,~t:.~ ;..... • . .• .e.", . ~ • .• ~ .~ • .- .. -.:'t. ~;:".... o , .• . .. .... ... ... . attention of American businessmen t he potential for in- .... .. . ~-:-- ... 9, ...... ~ ••• ' ___ ._. .... dustrial development in the Volta River Valley. On the second request, concerning the working-out _.", .-, - :. . .- ,; .~ ',".;.;': of a plan for the financing of the construction of the dam , . -~ ",. . -". . - ~ ,.- ,-,;,,;., , ..:....:;...-~.:;.,.. ".-...:-.;;:...;.:'." . - :... .. ·~/·· ;...:. :,..,·-·-- . . ~ ." . - -"'- ~~' .... - and power insta llation at Kosombo, the Government of Ghana wishes to put forward the following points fo'r the consideration of the Government of the United States: .. ~,~;~- .;~ ... ::;;~:. .: -\/:'. ~';- ; '~ -:: -. .' -,- (1) The Kaiser report shows the economic feasibility of an aluminium industry in Ghana. The report .-.• ,_-<.,~' also shows that electric · power can be generated >'''';;':,:, ,c~~~~: at a comparatively low cost and that construction costs will be lower than those set forth - in the 1955 report. (2) As a result of the publication of the Kaiser Reassessment Report, several of the major aluminium companies are manifesting great interest in the possibility of forming a consortium of aluminium companies to finance a smelter and ............. -.-:- .... ..;~.~. .... -~-- .. -,-~ . .. related works in Ghana, which would utilise a " ' . '-' .':l-I~<'-.r.v--..,~.:.. ,"».;:;::::';:'!"~~,;,v..,~~. •_ ,~-.-,- substantial portion of the power to be generated , by the Volta River Project. _.' ,. ' ,,-", '-..e .. ~'., .,~. .. _"'_ ,,.._.,,~ .....' . . -.~ >; . fII ' r ' be - ' , .H1 (3) It has, however, been the impression of the Government of Ghana during all the talks it has undertaken with these companies, that one of the most important things which they desire t o know before they can make any specific proposals to it is that they require a fairly firm expression from the Government of Ghana as to what the rate of \ cost of the electric power to potential industrial consumers will be. (4) The Government of Ghana wishes t o emphasise that - it is in no position at the moment to give even an - ..... ' / approximate rate •••••••••• ·· ·· . .. ... . .o • ... 0 . . . ·· · · ... . .. 0 ··. · . .. .0 ·0 · ·· 0 0 , '0 "'" "':;";'~ . _ !2Ji¥$ .' · · ·· · ··· approximate rate of cost for this power unless it is also in the position to know what the approximate interest and loan amortisation costs of the project will be. (5) Recalling therefore, the hope expressed by the Prime Minister of Ghana, Dr. Kwame 'Nkrumah, in his· joint statement with the President of the United States, Mr. Dwight D. Eisenhower, to the effect that the Government of the United States ·~--'--'"'·· wo"uld find it possible to assist the Government -,·it,,,,,·~., '.-;;-.,. ~~.. ~".~_,~ . ~,.:,~,_i,l l..i_. ¥!.~_.j.'.I j~ ~_~.,,,§, l~ of Ghana with its development programmes, 'and recalling also the sympathetic interest which the President of the United States showed in the development programmes of Ghana, the Government of Ghana would now wish to know the general baSiS~lil' upon which it may expect to be able to secure :-c,i United States financial aid for the Volta River Project. The Government of Ghana will be most grateful to ,'. .• • < • . ~~~,. - :wi.~~ .. ..;-J.b.~~~";lt~i;;~~·~~..,..>;'l;.... . ,~.~~. .... _. ascertain: ~:;;~:-,;:, ._:-:'~.'_ ... ...( A).- . How much o~ the total financing . of the construc- . . - - - "';,:' . ' : - . ";f: tion of the dam and the power installation at Kosombo will be by loans and at what rate of interest and the amortisation rate and maturity of the loans. (B) How much will be by a direct grant. The Government of Ghana at the moment is financing the construction of certain preliminary works at the Kosombo site and it is most anxious that there be no undue delay between the completion of these preliminary works land the ••••••.••• ... ., . . ... , , . 4 .. ~ .... ..... .. . ... J .. .... . . .. .. . .. .... .. . .. . .. . . ... .. ..~ ···. .. , . and the start of the Kosombo dam construction. For this reason the Government of Ghana plans to proceed as soon as possible with Step One of the Volta Hydro-Electric Project as recommended by the Kaiser report, namely, the construction ~ ~-. _.. -.. _.. . .--- . -: ..- .,.- ------ ... of the dam at Kosombo and the generation of power from it. This will involve the expenditure of approximately $180,000,000 with an installed power generating capacity of .3"_ 768,000 kw. The sources of financing for the estimated expenditure as at present envisaged are: FOREIGN $127,000,000 GHANA 53,000,000 $180,000,000 ,",,0' It is realised that in order to arrive at an approximation of the financing conditions and resulting debt charges certain basic assumptions will have to be made. However, it is essential that a premise of the financing be now made in order that the Government of Ghana may, in turn, make power costs representations to the aluminium companies in order that they may then be more definite and specific in indicating their willingness to commit themselves for s~bstanti!l blocks of power • • The Government of Ghana would be most grateful if the Government of the United States would advise it as soon as possible of the assistance which t he Government of the United States may wish to give it in working out and implementing a plan for the financing of the construction of the dam and power installation at Kosombo. May 11, 1959 \ ., . , .} J ", .J ., ... .. ~ . ·" .. til it • I April 2 2 1957 r.r Mr. ttaw- I want to tbAnk ')'OU tar your letter ot Asrll S. 19S7. and tell ~u a much I appreo1ate )'Our eoart.y add tbougbto- tu.l.nN. in .edina at • COPT ~ Mr. Black'. letter ot March lS, 1.9S7 to 'Dr. !IlcNDh Oft the volta 1ti'ftl' Pn:>jact. .. SiDc~ c )IOUr8, en A U1 C • f\) (J) ->. /.. .... ...- .b. ........ ~ I 01 01 --.J .... J~ __ fDapp, ~ 'f1oe P.Ne14d, _ ~ o ~ Inw-t1oaal. Bank m ~~ w r ~ G"- '- "v \J , -~' OFFICIAL USE ONLY :) "''11).., 9 49 jl3 ) 'l '"I ") ""''''.:l ;) "l..) , > , "QEPARTtv1~T, :GF, :ST;At'E Memorandum of Conversation DATE: M:!.y 10, 1957 SUBJECT: Conversation of Mr. G. van Bo Slagle with Deputy Assistant Secretary Joseph Palmer 2nd PARTICIPANTS: Mr. G. van Bo Slagle - Foreign Construction Associates Mr co Joseph Pallner 2nd - NEA\l George D. laMont - AFS ~ COPIES TO: NEA - Hr. Pallner - 2 AFS - 4 OLI - 2 OJ ~ American Embassy, Accra · 01 c.. .~ ====================================================~~~~ \ 1 l~m ~ / Miss Rose Mary Woods of the Vice President's office telephoned p- yest'erday afternoQl and asked Mr. Palmer if he would see Mr. G. van B'- Sl~gle who had been trying to see the Vice President for several days. Z' IT. Palmer agreed and Mr. Slagle 1&t er that afternoon c aUed at the 01 Department, representing his busmess as urgent. He exhibited an I agreement he and Hr. leith obtained from Prime Minister Nkrumah of .. Ghana in which they were give.'1 ~hree months to obtain backing to tmder- 0 take the Volta River ProjeciJ J.fi:' .. Slagle said they had also agreed 01 to help finance the Tema Housing Froject. He' is in urgent need, he -...J said, of some kind of concrete backing fram the United States Govern- ~. ment to get these projects on the way. For the Volta River Project ~ he hoped to obtain an Export-Import Bank loan of from $100-200 million, and the balance he was confident of being able to obtain from private interests, such as automobile companie$, the S1m Life Insurance CompanY' of Canada, ahnninum companies and Petrofina (Belgian oil company). E He realized that the Tema Housing Project is not one for which one Z ~~ could obtain a private bank loan and so he hoped that the United ..... States Government would put up about $30 million as a loan on this ::: projeot. He recognized that the Export-Import Bank would probably ~ not assist :in a project of this kind and therefore wished to explore ,-.J the possibilitY' of International Cooperation Assistance. He knew _ that a lliited States Government loan would not be easy to obtain in --- , the short time at his disposal, hence his reason for desiring the \ assistanoe of the Vice President to cut the red tape. "-, . 6'. \ \ '-"~ ; , . OFFICIAL USE ONLY . '£": , r J l j \ ) ,,~ 1; •.. '" ~ "u ,. ...:: ( I (II " ... OFFICIA , , 1 F • i..i .. . . l ...• USX O\I •M ,t~ .... . . . I .' , . , , ~ ." • I ~ , I _Q~ ' . , . .. . Mr. Palmer told him that we were naturally interested in helping Ghana in every way possible and in supporting responsible American enterprises which are in a position to assist in Ghana's development. He said that when Mr. Leith called upon him, he had agreed to submit evidence of his group's financial backing but that we had seen nothing as yet. He suggested to Mr. Slagle that he write a letter giving the details of his problem. He said that he knew of no source for a Government loan of this kind except through the International cooper- ation Administration. He emphasized the limitations on those i'unds and said he was under the impression they are practically exhausted. this year particularly in the light of the Richards Mission require- ments. He said that We would be glad to arrange for Mr. Slagle to discuss his problem with ICA. l-h-. Slagle said that in addition to hiJnself and Mr. Leith, the "AssociatesU in Foreign Construction Associates consist of Mr. Fraser who was in the Kaiser-Fraser automobile venture, and some people from Houston, Texas. l-h-. Slagle said that he himself used to be with Eleotric Bond and Share Company until two years ago when he set up his present businessof obtaining construction contracts abroad. He said it was particularly important that he and his associates succeed in this venture, as otherwise the Soviets would undertake the project for Ghana. In reply to a question, he said that the Tems Housing Project is not legally tied in with the Volta Project, and that if he is unable to obtain the desired backing for the Tema Project, it did not follow that he would automatically lose the Volta River Project. He said that the Utah Construction Company, a well-known organi- zation, would build the Tema HOUSing Project. He did not indicate that there would be competitive bidding an that project. At one point in the oonversation, Mr. Slagle mentioned that he had made a contribution to the Convention Peoples Party. He said they alleged they needed some funds to carry a certain area which they might othervise lose • . He said he \laS unable to contribute the amount asked in the absence of any definite contract for construction work but gave them half of lolhat they asked. Mr. Slagle did not give the appearance of being either a financier or a weal thy man. He seemed tense and wrapped up in this project to the exclusion of all elae. Mr. Slagle said that his address while in New York is at the Commodore Hotel. He did not mention the office in New Jersey where he has a telephone answering service. The address given on his card for Foreign Construction Associates is 309 Bay street, Nassau, British \-lest Indies. According to Commerce, they also have offices in Panama and Houston. .- ~ oa.t ~ a " ~ .. NEA:AFS:GDLa~L~~ . , ,, .. =. . ~ ::: J . . .) -l i .J OFFICIAL USE ONLY , £~ICI,AL L!$E PtITiY , . . • , . . . '" ..: " 1 . No. 2$5 A ' , " 1 F~vm Accra, Ghana That, verily, ''lould be most unprecedented, profoundly herculean! "lhat, obviously, the President could do would be to provide a cushion covering the margin between Ghana's capability and the current rate of interest in the form of aid. This way presents far-reaching political problems. It will devolve on the President then to assure that the Volta Project will not fall to the Communists. That, again, brings out one vital aspect of the whole business:' a substan- t i al portion of the making of the success of President Eisenhower's good offices lies in this country--in the ~bility of the Nkrumah Ghana government to demon- strate t o the world that its determination to eschew Communism has been turned to the l ast screw and cannot easily be unwound. On this score, one hopes that President Eisenhower's good offices will give no cause for pessimism either. DATE: IJe.rch 13, 1958 SUBJECT: Volta River Project PARTICIPANTS: : r. Clifford Shields, V~ President, Farrell Lines ~ir. C. Vaughan Ferguson,~r., Director Office o~ j'.iiddle ~d Southern M'rican Affairs COPIES TO: AF - H:r. Pamer (cc) kF/EX ,... lJiss J\:ontague (cc)·· ro IRC 2---- ~ Oi nc;ll.. c.. E-'· • AFS ~ I 11_ l'r. Shields informed me that r:r. Dana Bartholomew, Vice President of AlUminium, Ltd., of Canada, had told him that ALCAN would not be a dog-in-the-manger on Volta and would cede ... their concessions on Ghanaian bauxite if any other privata 04 interest were serious~ interested in proceedip~ v~th the pro- 01 ject. 1- OJ tI. uhields also said that 1.:8ssrs. Slagle u.nd Leith were back in the picture and in addition to their interest in Volta () were now promoting a timber project in Ghana in association with (f) a llli~ber compaqy in fXlington, Virginia. "s- C; ;0 ~. ~ I. 0-: ;:: . '''' .J r~ ~ ~ "u[jl?"~L- OFrICIJ.L USE OULY .. \, -"'{"") '~oJ ~ " " ., .. .. ~ , .. .. J" '... P-, e~_- 1- ..~ :;:::- ,j ... ".. • . .. , , , I' ) J J .. .. , J' J J _ \ J 'I , , ,. 'J . • ~ .. , .. .. J J J ). , ~ f l J , .. • •• .... .. , ... J , , . " ,~ - -.- OF.FICr A;L TJSE. O, tiJ.Y, ~ . , ) . DEPARTMENT OF STATE Memoranclum 01 Conversation DATE: Hay 5, 1958 V SUBJECT: Interest of Kaiser Aluminum Company in Volta Project PARTICIPANTS: ~. Richard ward, Assistant to the Vice President, Kaiser bluminwn Company, lias. ...1 L'1gton, D. C. l1r. C. Vaughan Ferguson, AFS 51 ('0 Mr.~• • R. DugGan, AFS Mr. 1. L. Padberg, AFS (!/j;) ! W =:T., /" :•: 0,3.. COPIES TO: State Participants (cc) ICA - l'tr. .bull~./ ~ ~ TRc 2-'-~ Mr. !"lesner ~ ~ • AF (cc) l·tiss Painter/' ~ ~ f\') AF/EX - t{iss Montague • ~ c:' Affidrican Embas~,~ ACC~ ~; G) ~~-- . ,CS.... '" '" " Q .. -+ \. "'3 ~ $~ ~ "- ====================================================~====================~I=,~_~tn f Hr. /Yard called at the Department at his request for the purpose of I ~ rc'~f,firming Kaiser Aluminum Company's interest in the Volta ltiver Project. tn Ul ')5/ ~:J,1-l'1r. ;~ard related that, following a recent inquiry by 11r. Carroll Fl~sher . - of IGtl, he had upon authorization of Mr. Edgar Kaiser, President of Kaiser AlQ~num, reaffirmed to Mr. Flesher Kaiser's previously expressed interest in establishing a smelter in Ghana providing bawd. te and low cost pOfler ar: J available. '0 (f) "- In discussing various aspects of the project, Mr. ~ard mentioned Kaiser rn is '1either willing to participate in financing the construction of the dam, nor to conduct at its own exoense a survey .fiich is n~eded to determine what the cost of power ,;ould be to the smelters. This, he said, does not preclude any interest Kaiser's other companies have in obtaining any of the engineering or construction contracts that might be awarded. Hr. Ward made the suggestion that lCA might be willing to finance the power survey mentioned above. !!~..cO~'): !:L'fL:.cq .. In response to the Department '5 ~nqUl.ry, !'Jr ••, ard sa~j Ka~ser has givi:ln no consideration t.o entering into a cors ortium wi ttl other aluminu companies. :.cfW ' cr ~! ... ( '.;1'1. : t.. .. f \t:,. AF :AF'S :.!.LPac:iberg :pd 5-9-58. .. , .. .. , , j , , , · • 4 , .•. 4 ' ., . , ., , . .. , . · .... ...... • .. .. .. ... . ... ·· , .. ·· , , •• • .. ·.. • . , /j PS' .jJ. /.. ~N ~IJNf~I'<~~tGP"L" illEl, G!:1Y . .,:' l~9) : . Df:PAirf,MtNT:OF, STAn. " . Memoranclum of Conversation DATE: May 6, 1958 SUBJECT: Status of ICA's Efforts to Determine the Interest of American Aluminum Companies in the Volta River Project. PARTICIPANTS: Mr. Joseph Palmer 2nd,~puty Assistant Secretary, aF rC1l.-Mr. Van Dyke 11r. C. Vaughan Ferguson, Director, AFS i1r • ..roHat Hr. W. R. Duggan, AFS l1r. Flesher Hr. David Longanecker, AFS l'1r. Buller Mr. R. W. Ross, AFS i'lisa Painter DLF -~.1r. Carey COPIES TO: lI.F - 2 (cc) Jl.FS - 5 (cc) -.!.8!r - . 6 M:;y ;., ~~'2.--" .....- . _. -~- '- 0 JGS6 ~~;-;E~~~~=.:. ..- .--.. C'~/; ~ 141_ c_ }'tr. PaLrner opened the meeting by stating that it appeared to be desirable to .p, recapitulate at this time the status of lCA's efforts to ascertain the interest ofG1 American private capital in participating in the Volta River Project in Ghana. ~ • Mr. Flesher, who has been spearheading this activity in rCA, reported that t<· Aluminiumof Canada is not interested in the project at this time but will be glad G~ to make appropriate arrangements with respect to its bauxite concessions in Ghana _ with any other company or companies interested in participating. Reynolds I-jetal ~ and Kaiser Aluminum are definitely interested if assured of cheap power, but only" the former is willing to invest a substantial amount in the project. The Kaiser CSt Company, however, comprising both engineering and aluminum industry operations, is in:'erested in participating in the entire project, not only in the aluminum (;; operation but also in the engineering and construc~?n of the whole project. 0. Mr. Flesher feels that it would be desirable for a~~.can firm, such as Kaiser,cc to undertake supervision of the engineering and con~ 'on of the entire project. He felt that power could be produced for 3.5 mills ~ • ~ Mr. Flesher said that Professor Lewis, economic ~viser in the Ghana Government ; in-iormed him last week that the Government does not p~ose to put any money into the dam and power facilities, but is ~tbinking pfC:9onfining its financing to the other pu~lic se~nents of the p:oject; i~e., the roads, . ra~lw~ys, housin~, and the port of lema. Ihe Government 1S proposlng to spend t39 ffilllLon ( ~l09 .2) on these whether or not the Volta Project is undertaken. Mr. Flesher felt that the prospects for financing Volta have improved in view of . the interest of the two American aluminum OFfICIAL USE ONLY ~ .. ... .. .. ~ ~ .. .. . . .• ..• .. ... .. • • ·• ·.> .. • • • •• .·. .. ... . ~ •• • .. •·.•. .... . .. ., V ) I "~ .J ~,. . • •• · ... ~ .J> V ' . . y sItfIC!/I.L "~Jse DNLY, l'" • ll (l4 l ' , , J I' - 2 - alQ~inum companies. Its chances would be further advanced if the Ghanaian Government can be persuaded to abancion what may be termed as the "frillll facilitie~, i.e., the permanent housing, roads, etc., and confine the project to the essential productive elements. If the Ghanaian Govern.'1lent would provide J~80 million for the dam, pO.ler plant and transmission facilities, it vlOuid prov~de a substantial basis for interesting other sources in financing the remaining ~80 million required for this part of the project. Another $221 million would be needed for the railways, housing, port, and similar facilities for which the Government, however, is proposing to provide ~109 million in any event. The aluminum sm~lter and mining operations are estimated to require an investment of " " 'J ' 0 (I FROM ;\Inembassy, ACCRA 016 TO ~+ : THE DEPARTlIlENT OF STATE. WASHINGTON. July 3, lQ58 DATE REF /lr:....3 £~ 3 £#-7 XM 13- -I SUBJECT: - Ghana as of 30 June 1957 ~ The following information, is supplied in answer to the questio~~re with the Department1s CA-9636 under reference. 1. Generating Capacity - KiloHatts - Diesel electric plants are used for the generation of electricity in all power stations of the Ghana Goverrunent Electrical Depart.'1lent. The distribution voltage to consumers of 400/230, 3 phase, 4 wire, 50 cycles is standard in all areas of supply v11. th the exception of Tafo, which is to be changed shortly. The primary voltages in use at present are ll,OOO, 6,600 and 3,300 volts. ~ The 6,600 volts are used in the Sekondi/Takoradi area. Ghana has a 29,907.5 kilowatt installed plant capacity. o Sixteen towns have electricity, and the Government p~s to add more during I\) its Second Development Plan starting July 1, 1959. The projects completed during en- FY 1957 under ~~e First Development Plan are described below. Accra - Two new generating sets comprising Mirrlees engines directly coupled to brush 1,660 ~d alternators were commissioned during the year, bringing the total capacity of the plant to 9,720 ~W. The Ghana University College at Legon, which has installed 3,824 ~,v of plant, was acquired by the Electrical Department and connected into the Accra system by means of 11 KV overhead lines. This station is now used to supply the College and the outskirts of Accra. Eight new substations were built and commissioned during the year, housing a total capacity of 1,960 KVA of transform~rs. Ten existing substations were increased in capacity by 1065 KVA through the i~t~ftion of larger transformers. '!'he important transmission and distribution tWF1ff:' i'dp'mp~eted included II KV over- head lines from Cantonments to Giffard Camp afidl.ari :-ll~ KV"Underground feeder, including a section of overhead line, from Korle Bu to Mamprobi. Tms network was also extended from Kokomlemle to iiiima Police Station and th~ 3.3 KVrrie~rk reinforced by an underground inter-connec~or 'P.~tw~en.tpecY ~JC .A. Sb.bs~tion and James Tm-m. The total installed capacity for Accra/Legon is 13544 h.1'V w,lth a I maximum 10"'- of 9240 KVI . . • . i., ,, . ~. tJ ~ ...E. H""I- 'Li"".·. .n. k~:. ...j. u:k'-;;==;;--__ L.. o-t-WJ1Cr'~~~liE1!i'.t) •• l ... 01. REPORTER ... _ - ,. ,. ~ • .... • ••• at . •• AGhbN.cQPY. -:»g~AmiENT i>t.~i'JTE The action otnce must return this permanent record copy t G~tluuLendQrsement.oLactiolLtaken.-------- P3g 0 . J, End. No x. • :' De)I' .• No 016 • :. Fr Coast. - Tl~s t.own f ~ genr.etine plant is cl.most loded to it=: (";< ac:' ~ I of 72.1, l\f! and ";ork i~ rrogreszing t.o accoJT:Tlodnte s. n~·. . : 200 Y.'; 5tt, 7h(. ll"e.Y.i!ll~~ I u:c.:i l1Cre i~ 6'27 lez . .. Tarl-:wa. - :':01'1< has begun to inotr. used iv·re: "las 250 K) . . lhl"llc.:a - ':'bt to\m has El generahnG ce.. f'ci ty of 320 1(.; ":hl,::h it i ~ :-> ·flk b2,:i. 'ihh plant is 8riequat C a"ld no .;orl~ '.:c.~ n"'CC$~c;l:: ir. tti!'" area . The )1:2):i.rn.:.M u::;ed Has lLo r! . 30J.;at.2nt;a - Thc reek load at thi:: ctation rose f:-oom 56 Y..i to . ) K,; . .0 ~evelof.'tli'mt works «:E' in progress . The maxi.:P;un us€.d here tia.! 60 :':.r . ?o - ':'nE'\ r01ler station an:1 the n'ajor F.QrEon of the x.ftrib\4tion zyt1-C"1 T8£ completed durir"n in~ talle:i capo.ci ty of 320 10: . l)eve10p- J'I'!ent ;;orhi ir: tr:.ir area ',;ere almo~t entirely "l!'.. k en up vi th the e.>:ten~icn of the sup::cly from Akim Swedru to A-;.;isa . A IT'j.Je of 3.3 IY c<:ble ~r8e laid and jo':"r,ted a.'1<::' the transformer connection etc . ~ 'was comr1eteJ . 7!le mA);:'lIHllp. load ;.;as 250 }~1 . S~·;ec.ru - ~!o Sib11i£'~,cGJ1t ne\·~ Horks .~er€ c~ricd cut ti'..is year but recon::truction of the original distribution system in ',;ir:neca ltade good p::"oE;ress. The rate of gro'.;tt in this stakon .7a:: 13 .5% and it is likel;' 1.0 excee' the instdled capacity of 575 K':; in the cOlT.::i.r.,; J'ear . 'I'h€; !'la;·:.:ue.:n loed in IT 1957 ..... as 325 K.: . AsarH:. r. tkese - '.lork on this new station was well advanced. during the year and the distriout.ion sy~t€m has been started . Keta - 2iDce this station was commissioned in 1955 a 500% increase in demend has been realized . This increase is attributed to the l.qr.;er load~ adjed during ::ce year waich repre!O€ot a high proportion of the totc..l output. Ad:li tional plc,nts ,;ill be neeessary to meet the 3.'1"ticipated. loaJ in the comil:~ year . Tlus stdion has an inEtclled capaci t.y of 102 r:;l. The maY.illl;.JJ'l1 lad in 1957 ,;as 95 h.'1:. Village Dectrification Scherr.es - In order to conpile data on Hinch to consider prospcc'L~ for rural electrific~,tion, tHO ~:re!'imcntcl scher.les "'ere authorized . In Adisio , a simrle distribution s~r.::tE'm \,'as constructeJ and h.-o hibh I I speed 12~ Kil self- contained generating setE were instdled and cOl"lrleted on -e-ctober 1 , 1956 . -- . . ··.. . L:MC.~S'.(r"l~~. LL-! ::. ··. . · .. ... .. .. • . ..•.•. . .• 4 .·. . age ot UNCLASSIFIED End. No._:X2~_ • • • 1. ClaJ~I1i,alio'" : .. : • Dt~p .• No. 016 · • • • . . .. .• • ....' • Fe ...... . '.Amembas BY, Ac cra .. "" " .. ...... .... .. .... .. • • • .... \6".". [ Kumasi - The maximum demand in Kumasi incr eased by some 600 Kltl during the yearI a'1d preparations were made for tha installation of tHO additional sets vThich:- I ;''1.11 ;increase t.he station capaci ty by 2,500 KI-l . Work progres sed to improve t.n9 dist:L'ibution in the com!nercial section, which was originally s upplied direct from the power station, and a new sUbstation at the Telephone Exchange .Tas conunissioned. Reinforcement of the Suame network improved the voltage in Ashanti Nei. Town and the Mbrom areas, Total installed plant in this area is 4516 K'w in th a maximum load in 1957 of 2900 KW, Sekondi!Takoradi - The installed capacity of 7,200 Irl'f generating pla'1t is in excess of the present demand due to the Harbor loads being less than. anticipated. The maximum load is 3,710 KH. This excess capacity is, however, being rapidly ta~en Up by the increase in light industrial loads and consumption is currently growing at the rate of approximately 12% per annum. The 6.6 KV system has been improved in Takoradi and Sekondi but t he work in Sekondi is not cor-rplete: Ta.lJ.e - A new power station comprising three 113 K'v! gen8rating sets .... as corr.missioned. Nel-l substations were also built and equipp ed i n the toim and considerable extensions made to the L. '1'. Mains. An additional 167 consumers vlere connected and the peak load incre2.s ed to 260 1\\; . This area has an installed plarit c:a.paci ty of 509 K'.' and the maximum us ed was 324 KvJ . L ... ... • ·• . I.. . .. ~.J £J4..l [.~ ~F1E]}.' • . . ~ ~ . " ) J ~ J •" • • .. • ... . ." . " , ... j /J /) ·· ·. . . • :c.... _ _ "...''. -__O l scheme was started in Mampong, Akwapim in, December; 1956. .... .. ~ JIo .- I::': ';.,j- , Generation~ .,;"-'-.; ""! )'.' a. b. C • . Industry 25 d~3~ ot~~r"f.:~~~'l~~~: ~·ii:.~;~;''~·;3~'"J~",~Z-,~;;,~,,~~, .. ?~!I~'~·'~ ,:j":;:";:/'-'~;;"~':~ W~!?'f*~€~0c", i .~.,~~~~;\ Flat rate prep~yment; street lighting, ." .,,'" ". 6 -,.' - 'Y;::" ;; .: ~ ~.~,~el~~~0:~'*r~",,:"v~~;;;~;~:~:~:~;~~\,.,,73.t~, ~~J~: :~;'~.~o~~"!i§~ '<~~ _- ;.;i ~;{4("·- , M~' .':t~::; 6 . 75.9 x.19 K>ffi:~ 100% ' . Statistics on line mileage (Item 2) ' are not electrlci ty generated, is . ~ed in . the vicinity of stat:i,stics are J:lot . }.cept~ on existing "l ines ~' :: ··.·;~iP~, ,~.:. .. ~i-.... ~ ." . ·;:.{'~;:~i~:~;,~A .}.::;r~~; ;or the AJci>assador, :;~; .~.. ,. cc: USOM .,' ~: I'·' • 0,' .', 'J ,. . Ltim~~,i .. JL .~ . , ..~ . ... i . •• .... ~ ~ . ~ ·~ ·.•. ··• - ACTION .. .. .. .. .. ".. ~ ., ...- , ~ " 1 .. , : "fI~Pp\M'5 ~ A.}SpQA7J;S : ;, . is assigned to , : .... ~~p N"Q.f\11 c: +=p ~\l LT+-f"l\S .. ~ " ~ ~ " , P. O . BOX 14781 CIMARRON STATION LOS ANGELES 18, CAIlFORNlA Tel. RE 2-8111 I~~J,< 1- ;- ... ~' , ... .. ~ Dear Sir: , ~,~. " 1'" ',,&) {J".:,\' ~,it" ·~o:,:,,,~, -:~·;t~ ~~f\~t ·~ .JI,.r_'?t';I,~ ~ ~ t~ {.. ~,,-,~ 1 ~ II ,j.J~ , t', ~'-rt-~.,. (".: ._" I~~ r ~ " We desire to negotiate means of financing The Volta , _R iver Project by private capitalwj_~. tbe gpvernment of Ghana. m ._ ___ ~_.__...--~ ... -.-'.~ ~..-....- ......~. ...._...._'_ .. _:- .;o-... ~..- '-- ~ b! • The underwriting of the Volta River Project offers an .... iii 01 ~ opportunity for our nation to pointedly reveal to Africa, Asia o 0 g c... and the Under-developed areas of the world the merit of a free :'r • (J) C en~erprise economy. Because of some special circumstances, the ;o~ ~::l development of this project in Ghana can committ this nation ::si to free enterprise and can facilitate a friendly solution to the Oc <1l VI ::l .... probl~ms of the Middle . . ~ East~ ~' t:T .... _- -_.. e!. .... ,- ::rr"fi? '" ~ On an enclosed sheet we are outlining briefly the conditions iK ro ~ I under which we would ~ike to negotiate with the government of S UJ Ghana. Q (Jj , CD If the state Department can find it convenient to take measures to facilitate completion of this agreement with Ghana to f i nance this project, we are certain that an avenue to committing t he entire continent of Africa to free enterprise will be opened. n\ ' - (I'. Thank you very kindly. "fJl , ours very tru y, ~/ .~ . ~'1It' ...... Albert R. Williams ARW: den J~ - '1 • J I • - I f I - • • • . I .) .:.! ,.. . , .. ... ~. . 'J ' · .• .••• , .. . ." ., , ) ) • 0 • ,, 1 " WILLI A MS S ASSOCIATES E C ONOMIC CONSULTANTS P. O . BO X 147 81 CIMARRON STATION LOS ANGELES 18, CALIFORN IA PLAN OF NEGOTIATION FOR THE VOLTA RIVER PROJECT I. We would like to contract with the government of Ghana to serve as Ecpnomic Consultant for financing the Volta River Project. II. We propose tb recommend a plan whereby the Project will be self liquidating. III. We propose to have governmental participation to the extent necessary to produce optimum returns. IV. We propose to have the Project underwritten by private capital. , . ... .. ... ... . .. t in bcin& employed as Q eoasult&nt by the Gove.r::uoent of Oh.ana to negotbt.. the finanCing ot tpe Volta Rive,. . h'Qject. Inasmuch as t.be respons1~U1 t: of obta1n1Dg privat.. :financihg for the Volta R1.nr Projeet io vitA th.eOoV'ern- ~ ment of Ghana J it 13 amggest.ed that ~1 propo$i tian "lour f'1.rz. might wish to submit b~ forwarded d.i.rectly to the Embaa*1 ot Ghana, 21J9 a Street, N.W • .t Washington, D. C. Sincerel,. ;YOV8 .. lor the Secreta17 ot St.ate I C. Vaughan Ferguson. . , Jr. Director Office or Middle and Southern African Atrain ~ " ~ ~ Mr. J.l~rt R. Williams, Rl~!R 1 ll' , Jldl.liau and .lsaocla't.es, , k-. Economic Consultants, AnaLbi __ J ) r P. O. Box 14781 Cimarron Station, ~" Los Angelss 18, California. Rev---------1 C8L ___, _, ____ ', Inforw~tion copy to.: .... -- , - lCA. - Mr. Carl, Flesher 'I" , .. ., ... ..,. ... • • .. ~ . . , . <. ~ ... . f U 1958 AUG 25 ~f! 1 31 tUTGOING Department of State . ,.., .. .,...c ... til ELEGRAM IOICATE: 0 COlllCT UNCLASSIFIED CHAICit ~~ I 3 TO Classification ~ l: ~~ ~ ,!2, :i"" =: f DC SENT TO: 0 F . ,,'1 Amembassy, ACCRA :zt-i to=< 7' 1 ,.....tJ:i RPl' INFO: Amembassy, IDNDON ,,2 () S;:t::: ;r: t;; t:<~ Dept issued following press release 1200 EDT August 25: E~ ~~ liThe Department of State today noted the signing of an agreement IQ between the Government of Ghana and the HBIl...'"Y J. Kaiser Company of Oakland, CalifOrnia, to bring up to date the engineering reports m on the Volta River Project 'Which were prepared in 1955. In the ~ 01 "- C. joint statement issued on July 26, 1958, by President Eisenhower and • I\) Prime ¥tLnister Nkrumah of Ghana the two governments agreed to share 0> the cost of this study. (' ~ \ ....... nt is anticipated that a technical teQXn from the Kaiser Company I m I will arrive in Ghana within the next two weeks. In addition Mr. Edgar I\) Kaiser, President of t he Company, will visit Ghana toward the end of 01 01 m September. Kaiser Company has participated, among others, in construction of the Boulder, Bonneville, and Grand Coulee Dams. 1I (FYI -- Ghana Ambassador Chapman, Henry J. Kaiser Company Vice ~;sident Chad F. Calhoun signed survey agreement at Ghana Embassy at I .. "'- Ta lagraphic transmissiDn a nd ,.,---~ g /P: hIDe: ddl 8/25/58 d anificot;o n opp, o ved b y, Rupe G\ ) , , ...., 4'1 • •• II " ... ., '\ \ I' Page_2_ _ of telegram to k~assy" kG'Ri' ~ ~ "n'.rrn J.t ' J".."1"lr' 0 _.' " Amembassy, UNCLASSIFIED Classification at noon August 25.) L ~ # # #.. • • • ••• • ~ ~QI4.. sS. .~. :.·. . ... ~. :... :. Classification r:~ SECURITY ClASSIFICATION FFIClAL USE ONLY ~ files. CONTROL: 12459 ~L---------------- REC'O: August 20, 1958 IMSC FROM: Accra 5:33 p.m. ~C )CL NO.: TOICA 66, August 20, 4 p.m. :RIBUTION 'CTION JOINT USOM-EMBASSY MESSAGE. .oJ'.,. .... _.,,;- INFO. No reply to TOICA 63 received. -,,~.r.: •• ):.- -- Fo1~owing Cabinet committee meeting August 19 GOG cabled today CD Ghana Embassy Washington following: ~ OJ c.. 1. Kaiser letter/contract accepted subject to inc 1uding in. • survey other possible major consumers of power from Volta in I\) addition to aluminum production. This proviso includes power m generated at Bui. - ~ .. ~ I 2. Agreed to accept any modifications appendix B agreed to bet tween ICA/W and Kaiser. "CD I I\) 3. To avoid delay GOG proposes to settle with Kaiser several o detailed comments on letter and .appendixes at later, date. OJ m 4. Embassyinstru~tedto inform ,ICA/W that Ghana: agrees to (a) whatever financ iaL procedure for payment most, acceptable to ICA/W,; (b) copy Kaiser report to be given ICA. · . . AGENCY 5. Foillowing is ,·text of p:ress statement . to be released day 1etter/contrac~~ accept~d: '.:" , ;, .' ; ". , :' "In the joint stat.ement' is'sued by PreS;ident EisenhoweranO Prime Minister Nkrumah on 25th July 1958, it was'no(ed ' th~fi.") '. --"\ the two Governments agreed that .it wou14: be .desirable t ,o ~ . bring up to date the engineering r~o~ on the Volta Riv¢~ project which were prepared in 1955 and to share the cost ~£ .-- - ~ this ....:.: \ f:6A/f. 4 ' TY .. (e 58) \ ~J-j OFF Icili USEIFONLY . .. .. I 1,. ... "- .~ en 1.--- UNLESS "UNCLASSIFIED" .REPRODUCTION -FROM THIS COPY PROHIBITED f-i \~&~---~-~-~ .. ... ..'. ". ... ... ..... . 0 o. ~-". ..~ ••• V e - • • .~. ••• • ~f'l----:·----[-~_~ ".· . :- : ..:-.•.• .: ..: ..:..- ." •.• --.:: - .:: -.-...'.:.":1 -Z ;. ~ FROM TO T OF STATE. WASIIINGTON. September 30 t 1958 DAl( REF ;rt r----1---.~~~~~~~rr-------------------------------------------------------------0i~ £ ~~ i .~~ __~ -L~~~ __~ __- +_ _~ ~~~~-L~a--L~ ______________~ P u.~ Only SUBJECT: Visi t to Ghana of Edgar F . Kaiser and Chad Calhoun of raiser Inductries Corporation in Connection with Current Vol ta ~i vcr S\:..rve;r : ' : ' \ l' .'~ r ~ Edgar:5'. iCAIShl and Chad F. CAmOUN, President and Vice President re$pectivel~ of t.he Kaiser Industries Corporation, visited Ghana September 22 - 26 to participate in high level discussions concerning the proposed Volta .liver hydroelectric pOHer - aluminum project, vii t..'1 particular reference to the survey no\! bein6 conducted into certtin aspects of the project by seven engineers from the I,aiser Industries • L f0 Corporation. Tne program followed by ;·iessrs. Kaiser and Calhoun , which "las coordinated by the Ghana Development Conm.ission-"is enclosed. It should be noted m for the record that l':inister of Trade OOTSIO was in the hospital with !'alaria during the visit, and he was replaced by r·~nister of Information BAAKO as host for the dinner on September 24. I The visit was highly successful from many points of vier!. Ix . Kaiser benefi tted from an opportunity to resume with top Gnana officials the discussions ' o~ which had been initiated under rather hectic conditions during the Prime ':i~ster's (JJ official visit to the United States in July. He •. .ras able to get a first hand look, either from the air or on the ground , at the terrain rThere the various parts of the en project are expected to be constructed. He was even able to devote a ferr hours to clearing up a problem affecting the enfranchisement of the local distributor of the :iillys Overland Corporation, a Kaiser subsidiary. I CD (jJ ~~e Ghana Goverrunent, for its part, received a clearer impression of the interest of the Kaiser group in the project as a whole. First hand arrangements were made for an expansion in the terms of r eference of the engineering survey. (Details were reported telegraphically by USOH/Ghana.) Advantage was taken of Hr. Kaiser's declared interest in other industrial investment in Ghana to discuss in general terms the possibility of a cement plant. Hr . Kaiser's intelligenc~ tact, depth of knovl1edge, energy, incisiveness and optimism concernins the (") future world market for aluminum all made a deep impression on the Ghana Officthl.! wi th 'Whom he carne in contact. . ~ , ~ The seven Kaiser engineers engaged in the survey are expected to ~ornplet~ ~ tqeir work in Ghana about the middle of October. I --~:r l-f CO 1 ~~,~ L {(t;-13!~J~ JQBlodgett: jk REPORTER ~'.'---~------~----~--------r=======================,----- P~e~ of ~ -.-- Ene/. No_-"'x"---_ ~. , .;. -~ No 197 . , ( ... _--..-.. ,- - _ F~n Amembassy, Accra I Press coverage of the Kaiser visit and the survey has thus far been I I factual and based upon Ghana Government releases. No editorial com":lent of I substance has yet appeared. ohn Q. Blodgett 7 nd Secretary of Embassy cc: Amcongen, IAGOS 1J'7£:' R.:tL Peter Rutter Charg~ d 'Affaires ad interim PAGE This c ':: 2 rc 'FlmM3d Accra 1 OF to tl:e I": .. ; .. LJcc::r::::nt files . otential Requests for External Financ';" ______________ Economic D- evelopment Projects, 1959 ...... ' g ID-AT=E- S=E-NT= -~=-------l ~ ~~~, ~~of to 1964. , /\ r- 12 1951 (Chec:~~~~:~;;' I.::;'=UEllD[)[lI.Jtlt?nr;wooo / ~ 1) 7< ~ 1, I? I each address) / \ \" G> C --=D~IS~TR~Ift.BU~T~IOUN'-'---A~CT~I~O-N-'I~IN-F~O~ ?J~ ADDRESS AND SERIAL NUMBER .1 6 ~;? ·A CTD ,.. I.O. N x ICA/W TOI CA A-__2. ;,..3_8_ _ W ?J3 1';- ()C ./1 INFO. JOINT USOMjEMIlASSY liJESSAGE :/:s G !\\~~- 1. US OM/Ghana submits thefollov7ing 'vli th the caveat that until ~ decisions are reached regarding Volta River IJevelopments it is ~ 'luite impossible to give any detailed estimates of projects 01 1 ' likely to re'lui re external financing wi t hin the next five years; "- :,,'r ! and the various figures given below in the alternative to the • I.' Volta River Project are at best current thinking rather than a rNJ't , firm projection. UI 2. US OM/Ghana also desires to call attention to the fact that the projections trucen from the Second Development Plan were given us completely l}I CONFIDm~CE as vrere the lists and figures furnished by the Industrial Development Corporation. Utmost . I care should be taken not only not to 'luote any figures, but also not to indicate that ICA/W has had access to these estimateso .' . 3. The over-riding factor involving external borrowing in Ghana .-: .- is the decision to be made concerning the development of the Volta River. ' If as a. result oi' the Kaiser report on the Volta OTHER AGENCY River scheme, the Government of Ghana determines to proceed with \~... \ the construction of' the main Volta River dam, it will, the USOM --- anticipates, have to put up about $75,000,000 of its ovm funds ~'Y!-\ for the construction of the dam and povrer plant and borrow at least $75,000,000 (although it is hoped that the Kaiser estimates ~t-'\ ~~ may reduce these figures somewhat.) , \; ' ,. _ .. . .- --\-::-~ :. '" __ >\. 4. The USOM hazards the opinion that this $75,000,000 coQ.. be , ~ \. ' .. ,../ / - 'borrowed about as follows: ""!1 " ' / ',\~f ~1 i " , !,~ n DRAFTED BY OFFICE Moffat, Director Abbot LOVi liloff at: la Director b ~ot LO'.7 I I iCA ANO OTHER CLEARANCES SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OJ??ICIAL U 8J~' ONLY Elubassy "' John Q. ICA· 5·40 ('2·56) vilo HECTO. L" ' .I tJ t.J J,Dg IlP!. tYBEobel,*w .Ihis lille)...... • II 0 " ~W. U •• V to! ¥ 0 t.I fJ U ., - ¥ v. ¥.to! \ / 0 " " " fJ U U to! • to! • to! ' J I ) t ) OJ 0 fJ UU •• to! •••••• to! ....."" "( , , ( ( c, c, , , ( , c c " ( , ,, ,, , -I ( , , ( ( ( ( , ( , , c ( , c , , , , , , ( ( ( , ,, ( ( ( , ( ( r ( ( ( , c Accra 'l'OICA. A= 238 OFPICIAL USE ONLY 2 1 IBRD 25~OOO9t)OO UK 209000pGOO West Germany 10 9000 pooo Canada l09000~ooo DLF 10~000pOOO 50 HOWl\Ver~ - the USOM does not beliErve the "Qovei"nment will attempt "tcf ' build the major Volta River dam unless-it can $$6 a market for at least a substantia.l part of the electricity prodUced- therefrom, and for tbia purpose an aluminum smelter would seem ess.rit1al '~ While -this- vtould bit ' -' financed almost entirely from external f'UlidJf -OOII.s'tructili>ll ' of' an alumi!lUlD'-' smelter Would 9 hoWever;, re~uire certainrai~:J~~rUOtiOh -arur iinprO"v.= ment by the Governmento With the guaranteed - ~mrolved, these loans would be 'bankable'.. It is thought that :the-' . ount of further -- - borrowing required by' the Government would be tathe order of' magnitud. of perhaps $25~OOO,OOO. The loans might be secured f'rom1 IBRD 15pOOO~OOO DLF 10~OOOpOOO 6.. Meanwhileg to raise the necessary priTate 'CApital ' f'or the mines an~ SIilel ter operationa, -a -oonsortium might raise $60,000,000 from Tariou, sources and secu.rea credit from: Ex-lm J3anlt of $ 60,000,000 10 TheUSOM-would net dare predict what pattern-of bOr.i'owing f'or othel!' essential pr9jecta would be developed if the Vol t& RiTer -project is adopted .. Therei8 no question but that if the Government of Ghana decid• • to proceed wi tli that 'project 9 it,' will ha.ve to cut baCk drast1cal17 on i t8 Contemplated SeoOrid -Development Plan, discussed. below in paragraphs 12 thrOugh 2Cl'.. -Unf'olftunately, there is a tendency on the part of some ~nister. in the Government increasingly to believe that it can finance all the deve,lopment it wants in the next five yeara regardless of oost. 8.Politically, the Government feels itself committed to the Volta River as It source of eleotrio! ty.. Aooordingly, it is checking carefully into I Lit -;l Volta River Projeots' which, if' the aluminum smelter scheme proves to be. unrealistic at this time, oan be adopted and still produoe electric1~ from the Volta Rivero The major I Little v Volta scheme is a dam and power plant at Bui; a second scheme 1s the construotion of a plant at the Kpong rapids. The latter cannot, however, be built without the former (or the major dam). The Kaiser studies will produce figures bearing on these 'little' schemes and the uses of electricit,r to be derived therefrom. - 9. It is almost certain in the opinion of this USOM that if the ma.jor OFFICllL USF. O~l'Y J ... . . . .... ... oera TOICA A- 238 OFFl CIAL USE ONLY 3 10 Volta River Projeot has to be postponed into the f'uturej Ghana will try to implement at least the Bui soheme. The Baleraw estimat. for this acheme, including a ttansmission l i ne to Kumaei p Was about $55,000,000 0 Aside from oement, the striotly fore i gn oomponents of this scheme run to about $169000 ~ 000. If all cement has to be imported perhaps another $16tOOO~OOO would have to be added making a tot a l of at least $32 j0009000 in ' foreign costs. The USOM beli eves t hat Ghana could absorb this ,dthout too muCh difficulty by cutting back on projects 1n the Second Devvlopment Loan Plan and borrowing say $15 ~0009000 i n addi t i on to 'other contemplated borrowings as this would constitute, i t is hoped , a 'bankable' projeot. PresumablY 9 Ghana would approach the IBRD orj if the · I»RD were not ' interesb d, the DLF because of the expressed Amerioan i nterest i n , the Volta RiTer development .. 10 0 There seems to be little possi bility that the Kpong Rapids dev910pment will be undertaken during the next f i ve yearso Its value depends on the upstream control of the river's flowo Moreover, , the 45,OijO ' kw steam plant , at Temawill ·come into operation during this peri od and it would not seem essential to tie up substantial fun de for further power development in this area in the face of other needso 11. One of the major industrial developments which should be sought ill Ghana . within the next five years is the exploitation of its domestic lime- stone re source s- for the manufac.tun of cement. There is too little limestone in Ghana of a quality that would produc e Portland cement to justit7 exple>1 tatton; but recentlY9 large depos! to of limestone (esti.mateda 200 million tons) have been reported near ~uipe in the northern region. This limestone will produce natural cement 9 and it is understood if mixed. wi th Portland cement or with clinker (whi ch is shortly to be imported fG~ local processing near Takoradi) a very superior oement. The Geological Surv67 is now condncrting tests of this li.mest one 9 which is located near the 'Black Vol ta. and which could be transported by barge to l3ui or to thE( :midn dam 8i1;eo It is too early to state what capital would be required to de~lep this cement, but it is, in the opinion of the USOM l1 one of the major musts in Ghana.. If it is developed p it "¢.l.l have an appreciable bearing on the foreign components of any Volta Ri ver deve.lopments and other programs of Public Works o Mr. Kaiser) when her e l1 stated that Permanente would invest , in a oement plant in Ghana, regardless of the Volta River scheme, if sui ta- ble deposits were located.. He expressed no opinion on the Buipe deposi ts o 120 Unrelated, ae it presently stands, to !Sl. Volta River development is ..... .. . . .. : C&r.n~,I'.: dl 15.51;: 'PP,LY '.: :. . : ' • .. . . " .. , " ' " < c c < c ( ( , < c ( ( ( , c C C C ( ( ( c ce. c ( {. C C ( ( f:.ccra 'fOICA A-Z38 OFFI CIAL USE ONLY the Second Development Plan whi ,:::h is in the course of prepara't1.oil; ' 'As of the present date, the Second Development Plan contemplates ~·total ' ' expend:i ture over five years, beginning July' 19 1959; of about $39fr~OOO~OOO. This includes a carryover from ' the ConsolidaUon Developiilent Plan' l)f' ' 1957 = 1959 of $42~OOO~ 0006 However 9 the total fig;ure' :bi. the' ';P~'ilnist .' ' not be taken as final; theestinlaus a.rEl being revised>! generally upwards, ~ . all the time. $33 million was added to the ;plan wi thin the past fortnight ~ 13.. Whether Ghana. can carry out so extensive a de'V'elor,ment 'plaii is .. moot point. It has been Commande);' JaCkBonos view th~O:J:Jal'lacoUldllot susta.in much above $479500 11 000 a yearo Professor ~w.i"" oX);the"otIiS:t' .. hand, believes'that Ghana could a'oeon the entire cap; -:",'T Qlrtl&,ypNposed by a greater use of foreign contractors; the principal Ca~e~ of slow .. . ' . down in the past two or three years lmving been, he believe8~ the, bQt:tle- ' neck in the Public ~1orks Department'which tried to do too much of the work itself'e 140 USOM/Ghana is inclined to believ9 that the al}tU8.1 expendiw.:re average . will be a little nearer CommanlierJacks'OnG e figure than Proiesscr Lewi5 i 0 We would hazard the guess that about $60~0009000 migli"~ p:t'o'l"li 1;0 bet[l8 - annual ' absorpti va capacity of the economy avera.ged <'''ter ' t.he f'iv~ y&~ period~ This might appear to be inconsistent with the 1ii",.;m expressed in the Master Program Book~ but in the Master Program Book invos'tmentb,y . Government was dif'f'erentiated from investment by the Indust~ial Develo~ant Corporation and the Agricul turu .Dev.elol'Jllent C'-orporationo The, Seeol'14 Development Plan includes nearly $35~OOO~OOO of capital for th.ese two· corporations 0 The USOM furthermore acoepts P~f'ass0r Lewiso argument that some at least of the reduction in Government capital expenditure .can be reversed by greater reliance, on foreign contractors.. ' 15,. As to how much Ghana can afford to borrow; Pro1'assox.' Lewis puts itt Ghana can spend during the next five years about $200~0009000 of' ita ~ money; anything above that must come from external borrowingo He has, however, also stated that in order 1;0 establish its creditworthiness and at the same time conserve its cash resources~ Ghana hopes to borrow about one=third its projected capital expenditures., 16* Professor Lewis hopes that during the next five years the Government of Ghana can borrow about $14090009000~ maybe a little less, maybe some- what moreo On the other hand, if the average capital expenditure runs to only $60,000 9 000 a year, a total external public borrowing of nearer $1009000s000 would seem to be more realistico 17. A description or list of individual projects in the Second Develop- ment Flan has not been made available to us; only certain totalso The OFFI C, 1 ~AT 71 I , .n:':'"...:. If' C.. ra,TU y.. j , , ., . , , , . . . ) Accra TOlCA A- 238 OFFICIAL USE OULY 5 10 more significant of these would appear to be (000 omitte>d)a A.. Communi cations I ~ 80 e900 Roads 8 28 p600 Aviation (improvement and lengthening of airport for jets) 11 1)800 Airline 800 Railways 8 p 400 Ships 800 Tema Harbor (including 4 new berths $16,800) 23 9800 Post, Telephone and Telegraph 59600 lliscellaneous 1 ,100 IS. Electricit.rJ including rural developnentl 19 ~600 Co Agricultural Develo~entl 28 v 600 Agricult ure, including drainage , dams, etc" 14p OOO Agricultural oredit 800 Animal Health and Husbandry 2~800 Forestry 1,800 Fisheries 500 Cooperatives 200 Agricultural Development Corporation 8 9 400 D. National Research Council: 1,700 E. Forestry: 33,700 "Industrial Development Corporation, Hotala, etc." 28 9 000 Other 5t700 Fo Public Works: .389100 Grants to local Governments for roade, buildings, etc. 10 9900 Local development through Communit,y Development 7 , 000 Other 20 9 200 ., ., . ... .. • • PltL'CICJJ.l.lJSE" ~ILY, j.),), ,., "" " "" ··. ···. . ·· .. .. ~ .t o .. , , , , . " , · " " , , , , , , , , , " , • " , . , ( (, £ .t: ..t'( ( ( . , .• .·f ." , T' . .. •• · f < ( • . < .. ( l ( ( ·· ·· .. .. ( . ..• . . . .l ( l ( ( l • ( ( ( , . , . Accra TOIGA A- 238 OFFICIAL USE ONLY 6 G. Education: 37,800 Secondary Schools 18,800 Technical Schools 3 9 400 University College 5~000 Kumasi College of Teohnology 59000 Library Road 600 General education 39900 Miscellaneous 19100 H. Housing: l~ Health and Sanitation: Publio Health (mainly health centers) 149800 Hospital construction 81)400 Rural water supply 129600 Urban water supply 99000 Aocra sewerage 8~400 J. Broadoa.sting (m9-inly external) K. Other Defense 14~600 Police 119200 Prisons 2~200 Diplomatic, Misoellaneous and a few sub-items 7p'OOO L. Consolidation Plan, 1958-59, carry over: Corrections for plus and minus: 900 18. Comments on Paragraph 17: A. Communications: Most of these projects will probably be laid before lBaD as constituting the types of project which IBRD is inclined to favoTe The foreign component is expected to be about half 0 Undoubtedly, some of the items will not qualify as projects and the IBRD might pre:ter to omit some projects. It would seem, however~ as though the IBRD might furnish about $;30,000,000, and tha.t DLF night furni sh about S5 ~ OOO~000. , , ", , O~ ({ilL, U3~· , ~HiFt. , , , , , , , , , , , 1 1 tIl ( t o , '" , I I )~ ., ,~ · . •.. ,) ) ... . .. , , , ) . .. .• .. •• •• • . .~ .... .) . : ~ ) ) • .. , . .• • 8 ..o n".. , ." .. •• • . ~~ ) ) .•. > •·• ." , . ..'' ) ) ) ) . • ) ) ccra TOICA A-238 OFFICIAL USE OlJLY 7 10 i / B. Electrici~1 Included in this figure is $ 5,300~000 to complete the 45,000 kw Tema Steam Plant ($3,400,000 is included in the Consolidation Development Plan, K below). There is a possibili~ that this wi~ be constructed by an Amerioan contractor in which event perhaps $29~0~OOO of the projects listed under this paragraph will be financed by t~e Ex-1m Bank. Most of the projects would be sui table for IBRD financing tUld perhaps $5,000,000 would be available fram that source. The DLF,We thirlc, migut make $3,000,000 available. - \ \ C. Agricultural Development: A few projects suitable for ext~rnal loans from IBRD or DLF may be included in this headinG, 1'ut principally the expenditures are for expanding agricultural station ~ ; -~. forI incenti ve schemes. ~ I 1 D. National Research Council: wbether regional ftmds v:auld be available for this undertakinG is not known. W. have not prOjected,\any external financing for t his project. \ E. Industr.yl Lacking details an to the projects covered by th~ mcjor heading, it is not possible to project needed external loans, 'l- although it is quite possible that some of the proposed projects will be 'bankable'. The same comment applies to the projects listed as 'Oth~r'. These incl.ud. geological survey ,rork, aid to African business, touri l:un - and the like. What is intended by "Aid to African Business" is not t.n The IDC alre.d7 has a small loan section for that purposeo I own. F. Public Workst Except for grants to looal Governments in large parts for roads - and Community Development Projects, most of the pr~jects covered by 'Other' are for the constructi.on of public buildings. Thtse will involve large imports of cement and some steel, unless, as indipated in Para.graph 11, a local cement industry is developed. \';e do not anticipate any external borrowing specifically for any of these projects. : G. EducationJ Improved educational opportunity and expanded educational faoilities in Ghana are fundamental to the economic develop- ment of the country. Because of the shortage of secondary schools, Ghana i. failing to turn out the personnel required to fill the middle brabkets of government, industry and commerce - the very foundation on which i economio progress must rest. Incidentally, many of these positions have now to be filled with individuals hired from abroad. Government and : business have to p~ not only higher salaries but also transport fares to and from Europe and long home leave costs. A.s Professor Le".-is pointed out to Mr. Smith during the latter's recent viSit, if Ghana could train its own people, the savings in expatriate l~irings alone would conati tute a substantial direct cash return on the invQotoent in educatiorc. Ghana is hoping and the USOM \70uld fully sUPl~rt the propooal that LLF assist ... ., , . . ;O:fF!f.nllL, USfJ ~llJ.Y · # • • • # ~ , # • .. • # ~ ~ .. ~., ##~ J" •• ". 'f .C:' , l , , , C· ( , , ( , , I ,I"f"f .ccra TorCA A - 238 OFFICIAL USE ONLY 8 11 in the financing of its school and college program. We believe loans for this purpose would total not less than '10,000~000. H. Housing: Nearly half of this ~ is intended to promote private enterprise in the housing field: aided self~help housing; an extension of the present roof-loan schema (whioh by lending for a good roof = ~luminuc sheets - has resulted in the building or rebuilding of ma~ good houses) both rural and urban; and site improvement for private development schemes. ' 1. Health and Sanitation: It has 'been reported t v the EmbalSS7 that an Amerioan firm may secure a contraot tor provi~',~i. r ural water supplies, and incidental electric power running to nearly ~J ~500900C. If this is true it may well be that a credit :from the Ex-Im :Bank will be involved, perhaps to the extent of $2 p500jOOO. The Aocra senrage scheme and the urban and other rural water supply schemes all lend theQselves to similar financing, although it is probable that some of ~he contracts will go to the U.K. and the Continent. Certainly it 'nould seem that at least $3,900,000 of additional Ex-1m :Bank credits might be made in this sector; and we also believe that at least $7iOOO~OOO of D~ loans would be suitable. J. Broadcasting: Ghana has determined to engage in external. broadcasting, the total cost of which is estimated at roughly $3,000,000. About $600,000 will have been financed in the Con80lidati~n Plan (L below); ~2,400,000 is included in the Second Development Flan in this seotion. It is thought that Ex-1m Bank credits amounting to perhaps $lj300,000 will be sought , against the latter amount. K. Other: These would not seem to be projects suitable for specific financing from abroad. L. Consolidation Plan: As indicated above, partial finanoing of several projects are included under this heading, including Tama Steam Plant and External Broadcasting. It would seem probable that for the relative amounts under this heading, Ex-1m loans sought on these projects might amount to #2,000,000 and $300,000 respeotively. 190 Professor Lewis believes that Ghana may also at some ' time during the five year period of the Second Development Plan approach London with a view to raising a loan on the street. He estimated that the maximum - that could be raised in this manner might be £10,000,000 or $28;000,0000 Even if this may prove optimistio, credit from continental sources might well be a possibility, and the total claimed has therefore been accepted as reasonable. oFFlcr;A.t ,liSE: ,~'Nt,y : " , , , " ,I , ' ·, ' · . . . . , , ., ,, .. , ":-;:. .. ,,~~ .,,~\ ·· · , . ..... .~ ~ · . e ~ ,., .. , ) ~ " t,il " ."" " , •~ .. .' . :, ra TOIGA A- 238 OFFICIAL USE ONLY 9 20. Suppliers oredi ts will of course also be availa.ble in substantial amounts, b~t these cannot be taken into consideration. 21. To recapitulate; We have suggested that possible sources ana amounts of external public borrowing by Ghana during the next five ye~$ for the Second Development Plan might be as follows: IBRD $ 35,000~000 Ex-1m Bank 12,000 9000 DLF 259000~000 London Street or other souroes 28 : 000 9000 $ 1~,0009000 22. In the private seotorj it is even less possible to mak& .~~~ prediotions. We are not attempting to include projects far whi~ external financing has already been assured or the new indust~B in which IDC has a part and for which all capital, including p:re~lt necessary external financing, has, aocording to IDC, been a.r:r&t1g-~~ 23. The follovnng list of projects has been furnished in com~le1! . oonfidence by the Industri~l Development Corporation as indU2tri~. £or which it hopes capital from whatever source can be raised within tl»n.xt five years: Estimate of total capi,tal required. Paper products: toilet rolls 250,000 Envelopes, stationary 85 , 000 Bags, etc. 70,000 Oil expression and refining 640 , 000 Plastics 9759000 Clothing Industries 100 ~OOO Cotton printing 19400 ~000 Wax block printing of textiles 1 9960,000 ( 0 f whi ch IDC 'Will participate 25%) Aluminum utensils 859000 Tire remoulding 280 9000 Perfume, cosmetios 110»000 Coconu~fibre products 420 , 000 Metal trunks ) Fibre-board oases) 220 9000 (of which IDC will parti ci pate 75%) Asbestos cement products 500 ~OOO ,, , ., ,, . ~ 'OF~P~AJ; UB,i ,0:!llLY , , , ,0 , , , , > ' > ~ , > , >, , , , , , > , > , > J :> .). ) , .. . . , . .. .. I • I ( . . . • . . .. . I , · ·I ..~ '- , I t. ' I' · I , I ·· .. • ·· Aocra 'l'OICA A- 2se OFFICIAL USE miLY Eleotrical Assembly and Repairs workshop 420?OOO Wood screws, Nuts & Bolts, etc. (Takorad:i) 165.00(1 Nail faotory (Takoradi) 420~OOO Confe cti one ry 70,)~OOIJ Ice manufa cture, 10 plants 420 »r :~o 'I. I 24. At least some of the fore e-oing i tams are pro je; <:rt.!'; '1/::.11 cl: \';n'j! 'j { 1;,- USOM believes, be sound industria l enterpr1seso AsffiltI!ing '.;h~t t'I'"' Government's Industrial Promotion Board i s 8UMfJ Sliful j:r .. <1 rr' '" ,. endeavors to attract external pravate capita l a numbe . 0 : u) ., ,. '1 doubtless be carried into effect. O£ the 20 project-ad new ~~it!.. _ ~ '.l'''r;. t hat IDe hopes to get started calling ·fo:r a t otal oa.p;i,tal of er·~,i ~ $9 , 150 »000, it would not be unreasonable tQ as~ume 1;hb 'l; b.D~,f to !'.t~"'~ quarters would in fact be undertaken wi thin the De%:-'; f~ !!: ye r. r-. ""."1 that private extern.a l financing would be zought on ~ pouitv ·hf'R~'!, t -----------.=.,,~'-~ _.. ~ the extent of, say, ~n,OOO »OOO. To the ~ent t hs,-" P):JV'.;!,t;s ~1.J1- ... -lF e'"; .';,.!.. is not forthcoming, the IDe will presuma.b~ 1nv!I!3t :!,"('< ');'n Junor 0' 1 25. In addition to the indu$tries listed by ll}C, 8..!?otM;r f:if-~_"" c :( pri vate external capital (it is not possi bl e :ro':r' u s ~t this <.·t!J.J< t-J --'7 to differentiate between loan and equity capi tal ) can ~~dlc(ini:~"! expected in agriculture, notably in the setting "!Jp of richer e~blt ... C1 , banana plantations and plantations for the prod~~tion ~~ va~t~~~~ GJ)~ v In each major plant. .U on there would probabl,- l;s l'ro~M~ng plan.:· ,..f' great er or less magtii tude.. The Agricultural JRp~lopm~!rf CQ;rpc:f'r ;':'0. "';'1_ i nsi st on 25% partioipation. Privat e for e i gn oap1t~1 mi&b.t $3 9000 »000 to $4,000,000 during the nen fi". yonr" (In tblS& ~ but these figures are frankly guesswork .. 26. Tuna fishing should also prove an attr aotive sou!'e~ of i"..,., iTt Ghana. wi thin the next five years and perhaps $1 ,000 , 000 in~nho r colli s torage and processing plants. Other food prooe~sing should el~_,rrQ~ of importance during this period • . There is good saope f.gr a morl ~ m~~t packing plant at the source of supply in the north l\ef CT"9 the ctd, .b m\Jk off too muoh fat. Tied with this and with local f ood p 'f'\'ces£I flg plan'; y would be a further extension of the country '!I cold et :r~ge ~·Et n:~ int!ludi!'l.t? refrigerated transportation. Again, as guess wor k only~ ~~oth~r ft~OOO f'~ might come from external souroes for these devlll l t) p.'D"'llt::: . ! 21 .. The Embassy has assisted the USOll in prepar:tne thtJ ;;O%" ;'71 Q'l"" • .. . . . . ..· • It \ I I I · ,-,' ffli V f ('(IJ ~~~~~~~~r---- . ' AF: AFS: ®Lal:10nt: deh OFFICIAL USE ONLY ~ -/IS-/ , , (~ra.o , ~ 4 4 ~ ~ ~~n ., ~'a ffice and Officer) .~ .' ., ·, . , , ,.. 'I') '} I') !I "I ~ , ., , , (38: :.' . : DgPA~l~ME""""O~ $TATW , , ., XI V 7 :L- f -. I ~- I 6 e ! C-,tl ~ ;J E , rI r Mr .rVoorduin1s trip to Ghana was an outgro*tb. of the recent visit of David I h-: Rock~eller during the peak of the recent water shortage in Accra.(see Embassy1s c ( D-493) Although the Goverrunent has long been planning a revamping of the Accra / fi water supply system, the recent crisis undoubtedly will accelerate action and Mr ~ . Voorduin I s recommendations have clearly been of great value in determining the nature of the solution to be a~p~rdA! ,iThe;:j4hole episode has done much to bring good-will to the Rockefeller Bro~hers Fund, and indirectly to the US, and sho\ll.d facilitate the future activites of the Fund's investment promotion s~~ces~ West Africa. J l :.. For ~~ Amcz;' ~ if; 12-7? I> L John Q: ~lDdger.') :'51t~;J1; •• ••• ,- d cre'li~. ~ Embassy )~~ , JQBlodgett:mf : :: . : utcui3·~ED .· : ::.: : 2:f{ ~ , -----::-:RE:-::-PO:::-::R:=;TE==R---7:--.-~· :.. • • • •••• : . • i c.o il ACTION COpy - DEPARTMENT OF STATE, ~> PRIORITY ~ , (Securit), ClaHification) FOREIGN 'BE!t V~CE; DES !?'A 'ICIl '-' • , ~ J ,:J .;J I .J ·. ~ ., ~ I ) Ct ~., 1 -" 1 I , ., ., ROM .i\membassy, ACCRA 6 DESP. NO. o TllE DEPARTMENT OF STATE, WASllINGTON. Ap,:il 2, 1959 DATE EF UBJECT : Tema PO"l-rer Pn/ject to be l10dified Dow/n w/ ards ~z"Xj .t.i..l /() 7" ~'l k/!( r-r) ~ BECIT NUNCL ASSIFI ED . ~~ - ~I The Embassy has been informed by a senior official in the Ghana l1inistry of ~, ~':orks and Housing that the proposed 45,000 kw. steam power plant (see Embassy's E D-123 under reference) to serve the needs of the new port and industrial town of Tema (15 miles east of Accra) is being reaxamined in the light of indications that abundant and less expensive power will be available to Tema in due course from the proposed hydroelectric development of the Volta River. The informant expressed the view that there is little likelihood of the project being abandoned altogether, because the Government does not wish to delay the much- (X) desired development of Tema as an industrial center until Volta Power becom~s ~ avai lable at least five years hence. The Tema power project may, however, be 01 pared down to romething like 35,000 kw. c.. • END UNCLASSIFIED BEGI N OFFICIAL USE ONLY .~ The !1inistry is still committed to give the Embassy advance notice before t he tender is amounced (Embassy's D-336 under reference), but there may now be several month1s delay before the specifications can be fully revised. For the Ambassador: John Q. S cond Secretary of Embassy L .. C .; \ . \ ' . \ ,~ ~ "'LGP id1b 1\~ J Q..'l. UNCLASSIFiED _,.I " _AF:AFS:~ a -"~;- , ;, _,_,_, _, ,':', :,<7L l. 1:;'"', a / (Dra:(/li;ng? Of fice and /ficer!, " ", " , t> '/ J -: ~ ~ I TJL ~~'LfJ _J rCi ; ",J 1) ::: :, :,p ~Af'"~mr OJ' ~"~ , Memorandum 01 Conversation y~ I DATE : April 6, 1959 ;~ I! SUBJECT: Volta River Project it t!.~ i~ PARTICIPANTS: Mr. Chad F. Calhoun, \.ney-.:! '. 1 }1r. Sa.: Levine: O/AFE BP - 1"d'. IIarv~t Wl.nter - 1 Mro Joe Buller . O/AFE IRC - . / Commerce - M' l• .~.!lankenheiruer ~ America~assy, Acc~ E - 2 4 ( ) 1f-l\ ~ 155'9 • AFS - Icc Mr. Calhoun accompanied by Mr. Ward called on Nr. Satterth\,laite to deliver one '" copy of the "Proposal for Initial Design and Construction Volta River Hydroelectric~ Proj ect" prepared by Kaiser Engineers and Constructors, Incorporated, which he will '" present personally to Sir Robert Jackson of the Goverp~ent of Ghana, at Accra on +- ADr i l 13, 19590 Mr. Calhoun did not have additional copies of this report but said I fUrther copies could be obtained if requested. g~ Mr. Calhoun, ~tr. Gerdes, a member of the Ghana team which prepared Kaiser's ~ heassessment Report, and another representative of Kaiser, are scheduled to depart for hccra on April 9, 1959. ~~. Calhoun referred to ~1r. Edgar Kaiser's telegram of April 3, 1959, to Sir Robert Jackson, a copy of which had been sent to Hr. Satterth\,iaite and Mr. Flesher (see attachment), to which he said Sir Robert had replied it would not be necessar~r for Hr. Kaiser to attend _t he meeting which he sch~uled for A~rilw::~ reference to Kaiser's proposal, ~~. Calhoun said the SCG~ 'the preli~i­ nary work, briefly stated, covers foundation exploration, determi~i of site eenations , deter!rj.nation of the basic design of the dam and pm-JeItrol . , con- st~~~tion of access roads, and initial construction of housing fac~ities at the I L ':' / ~ "Z",,: .... . / ·· ..... . . . . ... . ... . . • 0 . ... ··• ... ..- · / rvto:· • ·QO 000 ... · V [ _OFF-IC-IA-L -U-SE -O-NL-Y .. - ] Memorandum 01 Conversation DATE: April 20, 1959 SUBJECT: Volta River Project PARTICIPANTS: I1r. Chad calhoun, Washington Representative, Henr~r J. vOay~and, California. f'rr. G. Richard ward, Henry J. Kaiser Company, oakland, Califor:lia .'IT • Carl Flesher,' lCA ;'lr Samuel Levine , lCA f]'lr· J. C. setterthwaite, Assistant Secretary, AF :c::oPiW~ r,"u, ..·. George Dolgin, Politico-Economic Adviser, AF !,Ir. C. Vaughan Ferguson, Jr., Director, AFS Mr. Eugene L. padberg, Jr., AFS COPIES TO: (jj) ~ ~ 0IrW.- -- Nr. Donald j\1acPhail c-· ¥lI'. Carl Flesher ~ . - 1 Mr. Samuel Levine c. • - ivrr. 0 ~n~ ,/ E - 2' , c.. 1 '0 - <6 / / sis - 2 \.-.-/ I • Canmerce -/~'1r. De bert GOron r- Am\rican F;nbassy, 'Accra / W -\Mr. c Dillon ,\~ ED -\~Kenney - 1 .t-,. "'- .t- I i'Ir. Calhoun called on i'1r. Satterthl.aite to report on his recent trip to .hccra r',. for the ?urpose of signi!1g a contract for the Kaiser Company with the Government C of Shana to do the preliminary work on the Volta hiver Project. ~~ C'_- rtr. Calhoun stated that the proposal submitte~ by Kaiser Enf,ineers and Constructors, Inc., to the Government of Ghana for the initial design and construction of the Volta River hydroelectric project was accepted by the Government of Ghana except for certain minor changes with regard to wording; that there are no basic changes in the proposal except that the scope of work was increased to include a six mile stretch of road which the Ministry of Public 1',orKs had already designed. i"lr. Calhoun promised to forward the amended proposal to the Department. I~. Calhoun mentioned that although a definitive contract is being drawn up by Ghana's attorneys, the present agreement is sufficient for KaL~er to proceed i~nediately, and Kaiser'~ engineers in oa~nd, California, start~.'~·iorl{ today on the design. Although Kaiser has no one i®1hena at the prese~ tL~e, Ylr. Calhoun seid K, ai~er exp,ects to have its peOP~'r'r. hana by ~1ay. In this connection discussions have already been held wi~ r rd to ~ .:s- ;0 , n H~ I •. CffAlQ~J,. PSjLO"N~.I Y.. I. H... fl] -.+ ~ •• • .. ~~II -' oJ j J .... ~ .... • .. #' . ~ JJ J "'~ 4. : If· : .. • .. . .. : 4 ~:-_ - ~ ~ ~ '. J, ~ ~ 1,1 ~ oJ ~ .... ... . N. ~FF;C~L U~ ~~LY:J .:. : 4 -: 2 .:.. ... , . ..: • . .. . ~Kaise~ls acquiring office space and housing from the Tema Port authorities. ~ Mr. Calhoun mentioned the Kaiser Company sent copies of the heassessment Report to ail Nort:t American alwuinum companies; that 1'1r. Lawrence Harvey of the Harvey Aluminum Company, Torrence, Cali.fornia, had sent a letter to Hr. Edgar Kaiser confirming a telephone conversation indicating their willing- ness to ~articipate in any company that might be formed to manufacture al~~inlli~ in Ghana. Nr. Calhoun said the Harvey AluminW'l Company is a smail company .;hich impo~ts its alumina :rcm Japan and produces about 60,000 tons of allli~inum annually. j\l.r . Calhoun referred to the discussions and exchange of corresp'ondence "Ihich the GoverDJTIent of Ghana has had \-lith }lir. Theodore Y. Caralli relative to a possible offer of sup9lier's credit b y a group of Itali.an, French, German and Si-liss banks and ma nufacturers.- i'iI'. Calhoun hJas inforrr!ed that lCA had subrlitted a repo~t on Carallils visit (TOI~~ A-535 of April 7, 1959) and that contrary to the statement ~ade by Sir Robert Jackson in his letter to Caralli, a copy of "Thich ,,'as enclosed to the airgram, the United States Government had not aSS1Dlec. the initiative in working out a p lan for financin g the Volta hiver Project. "VInen asleed \..Jhat effect l'ir. Ca r 211i' s offer might have on Kaiser, Yir. Calhoun repliad it offered some competition and would have to be considered. He made no furthe r COIT-' ,nent the reto. Ix. Calhoun mentioned that during his discussions ;ri th Sir Robert and_ Hkrumah he informed them of I'1r. Kaiser I s reaction to i.,lr l". :Cavis' proposal (see Department t s Memorandu.~ . of Conversation dated Ha rch 19, 1959) as stated to hi"1 by l':r. Kaiser on April 9 or 10 9rior to his leaving New Yor« for 11ccra. j·Ir. Cc-:lhoun said Ar. Kaiser fe Gls that Ghana's agreeing to supply po;-ler to Davis at t "l0 mills would in effect have Ghana subsidizing the sale of pm.er. 1-.. n agreement such as this, Iv1r. Calhoun said he pointed Ollt, would not help Ghana in getting bankers interested in ma~ing a loan for the dam and power installation. Nkrumah, Nr. Calhoun said, seemed very gratified to receive this ir.formaticn. \~hen asked \oJ:1ether Nkrumah had an idea of the many difficulties involved in getting the Volta Project underway, ~tr . Calhoun replied he was sure that he had; furthermore, he said, Nkrumah is now convinced that Ghana will have to put at least ~G 25 million into the dam and pOTtJer component. i-Jith regard to any progress being made in the formation of a consortium of alumintm cow~anies, Itr. Calhoun stated, it is evident that ~~krumah is relying on Xaiser to do this. i1r. Calhoun referred to Nkrumah IS telegrClm of April 14 to [Vir. Edgar Kaiser (see attachment 1) stating he drafted this for Nkrumah after Nkrumah had asked hirr. how this was to be done. Mr. Calhoun also mentioned that upon his arrival in Rome from ]l.. ccra he received a cable requesting him to submi. t a draft reply for Hr. Kaiser to Hkrumah's cable. A copy of jVlr. Kaiserts reply of April 16 (attachment 2) was furnished by :'ir. Calhoun. Hegarding the reference in l'1r. Kaiser IS telegralT, to Gbedemah, B otsio and Jackson visiti.ng the united States, lvlr. Calhour. stated this subject came up during their discussions as to what the Government of Ghana might do to get the Project undenray and it was decided these official s would come to the United L /' ~ :.. :.. .: :. r-.: .........- O...F.. " -FLI--'aL.m,....."''-.-''L. .~'·t--E-.*- A.~-..~. .Y -.-:'L .--,:. .:: . .:.-.= .. • • • • :I. ....--..... ...-.-....--.--........ .. •• • • .. I. OFF'ICIAL USE ONLY . . .•.• • .• . • .• .. i •• I 8 .. .. ... • • . . .•• . . ... .• • . ·· ·.. ·• • .. .. • · • · · •• · ·· ·• ·· St.ates around the middle or 1a tter part of May for the purpose of seeing the I heads of v~rious lending institutions and agencies, aluminum companies, and united States agencies. Attachments: 1. Telegram from Prime Hinister Nkrwnah to Edgar Kaiser. (copy of) . 2. Copy of Edgar Kaiserls reply to the Prime Ylinister. L ~~.)....-~~ " r OifFICIH.. lJ$E QfJL'y:. : . ~,J ., 1 t '" ... » , --.. .. . . . . .. . .. ... .... , I COpy i.pril Ie, 1959 lirE ChBIE STOP ,tPPf3Cli-.TE COl;FIDE:NCL STrp Ch1HOUN J,LVISES EY CABLE OF ! J.. .. ; ~U.1L TriIS .. ILL B!... It:.1..PFlJL STD. I r. .IT;1 ChLP.OUl ON rllS riliTUhN M1' n •• .til ~H I IN 'Xou OF OUR PhOORh l STOP LL BEST .. !SHES. EOOAR F. KAISEJiIl L .. .. ..- . PRIORITY (S uUTit, Cltllsi{ic4tion) FOREIGN. SERVJC£ DES- PA- 'rCi-t -; ~ ~ ~ . Amembassy, ACCRA , 660 FROM DESP. NO. TO TilE DEPARTJ\IENT OF STATE. WASHINGTON. -=Ap=n='1~23"-J,,--,1,,,,9~5L-9_ ....\>,~ /lot ~ DATE I) ~ U1 REF /(; For Dept. lie c ~ b /c..,4-// Uoe Only -s C /11- /tJ ..1- tV - ? SUBJECT: o~ t='CI! ~ .... ~ The Ghana Ministry of Works and Housing armounced on April 17 that effective ~ * July 1, 1959, water rates in the municipal and suburban areas will be increased r- ~ substantially to make the water supply section of the Department of Public Works """ t1 more nearly self-supporting. ~ ~ Present municipal mtes for domestic consumption are 2l% per annum of the -, rateable value of the premises plus 2 shillings y sUpence per thousand gallons delivered. - The new rates for domestic consumers will be 5% per annum of the rate- 00 able value, plus a nat "internal supply" rate~ ()6r 10 shillings per montho House- ~ holders in the muniCipalities will no longer be charged for gallonage consumed. 01 c.. Commercial consumers will continue to pay a nat 4 shillings per 1,000 gallonso and do not pay a percentage of rateable value. It is understood that the commer- I\) cial rate has been unchanged for several years. m Domestic consumers in suburban areas outside the municipal limits of Accra, ~ Cape Coast and Sekondi-Takoradi will pay a nat 2 shillings 6 pence for 1,000 ........ gallons. This is the rate which was established last July for the whole- country ~ outside the municipalities and suburbs. Thus there are now three different rates -I 5% of rateable value plus 10 shillings a month.. for municipal householders, 2/6 per I\) 1,000 gallon for all. other domestic consumers and 4 shillings for all commercial ~ consumers. 01 to In the press release announcing the new rates, it was pointed out that the increase would not enable the water utility to cover all its costs, including new construction, interest and depreciation, but that it should cover actual running and maintenance costs. The Second Development Plan contempla~_~t~ex penditure of ro4.5 million over the next five years for rural and £G3.2 m:r for urban water supplies. The new water rates will not finance this investment., t should at least keep the new facilities from adding to the Government I sr.ecurrent cost burden. '-j; i9 ~r ~~~0ZA D John Q. ID.odgett I _ Sa ond Secretary of : / L1L One shilling equals about 14 cents. r JQBlodgettun!" .. ... Ir.- -JJN-~--S~-F1,.ID--.. --.- .- -, ••• •• r REPORTER oil •• • • • • • • ••• •• ~ • ., , A~{~Ii: c~py: - !J)tPAR-'(~t:rrr. 9I! :~~¥fE Y- ;-J'tIM! acUoa omee muat return th1a permanent record eopy to DC/H. tiles with an endorsement ot actio UNCLASS IFIED (S uurit), Classification) J. FOR E I G N S E R\1 ,I 8-1B \ ))) l E~S P A' f ~)H ~ r.('y ) ; " '''l I , ~ 1'1 ) l 1 , , I .., ) • ~"'1 f'l AmEmbassy, Accra ,. • ., ~ .. .. , • " "' "701 FROM --~~DE~SP~.~N70·-----L----~~----~~~e--a-=~ TO TilE DEPART~IENT OF STATE. WASHINGTON. __~ Ma~y_ _~- L,~1~9~5~9 _______ ~ DATE .... H REF ~g o Use Only SUBJ ECT : Government of Ghana Statement t/nd International, Inc. 201 lIbrld center Bldg. lho Cedar Street Washington 6, D. C. New York 6, N .. Y. ¥..r. Thomas Griffin, Research Asst. V. G. Leadley, President Ivan Bloch & Associates John Holt & Co. Inc. c/o Wise & Potamkin 10 Bridge Street Perpetual Bldg. New York 4, N. Y. Washington 4, D. C. Mr. Bill Michael, Attorney Mr. Thomas E. Covel, Vice Fresident 360 Third Avenue Aluminum Ltd. Sales, Inc. New York 16, N. Y. 630 Fifth Ave. New York 20, N. Y. Mr. Eugene Stewart, Attorney 1001 Conneoticut Avenue, N .W. }!r. C. M. Famer Washington 6, D. C. International General Electric Co. Hyatt Bldg. !~. Jan H. Reimers lfashinc;ton 5, D. C. Metallurgical Engineer Room 501, 11 York st. l-f.r. J. J. Scheu-Cocoa, Purchasing Dept. Toronto, Ontario, Canada The Ne si{le Q>. 201 E. ~th st. Mr. Ronald F. Sullivan, Attorney New York 17, N. Y. One Eleven st. San Francisoo, Cal if. Mr. F. E. Whalen c/o F. A. O. Mr. Horace S. Hunt, Jr., P!'8sident 25 Broadway Fargo Enginoering Co. New York 4, N. Y. J acks~!l, Hi:chigan Lazard Frercs ~ Co. Mr. Cl. 1... Vicinelli .lttention: Library Banca Naziona1e Del Lavoro 44 Wall St. One WaJ.l St. _ l-!ew York 5, N. Y. New York 5, N. Y. Mr. WUliam F. Geble Mr. Oscar Cox, Attorney Ifestinghouse Electric International Co. and Mr. William Evans 1625 K St., N. W. Suite 309, 1625 Eye St., N.W. Washington, D. C. Washington 6, D. C. ~achiner.r Institute Union Carbide & Carbon Corp. 1200 18th st., N. W. 30 East 42nd st. Washington 6, D. C. New York, N. Y. Phelps Ibdge Copper Products International A1um:inum Lim!t ed Sales, Inc. 300 Park Ave. 6» Fifth ~ve., New York, N.Y. Ll-!ew York, N. Y. C.F •••0 . ..J 25, Broadway, New York, N.Y. AF;u.ssEIi-a1.rg,Jr'Pdh •• 1. . JlFF.IC+AL , ~ '9~". ' .I .•.~ . .. . " t ' - ' 0 • {Draft ing cOffrice/ a nd Officer;' , ..,.-.· , ,.~.,d, :· :. ~ :: '0. '. : :,0 ,:i.fSjr.: . ~~ /'1 'j-j/SCJ ~ DU)(R-TMEr-~ OJ;' SXA1 .E. • '. •. U. , /' / MemoranJum of Conversation @ DATE : May 21, 1959 SUBJECT: Volta River Project PARTICIPANTS: Mr. D. A. Chapman, .t.ni>assador of Ghana ~ Mr. R. Mo A~ei, Second sec~' ~EDi>assy of Ghana Mr. C. Vaughan Ferguson, Jr. rector, AFS Mr. George Dolgin, Politico· omio Adviser, AF Mr. carl Flesher, lCA Mr. Samuel Levine" 101\ Mr. George R. Kenney, ED Ji;/ij'r. Mr• Frank Mr E WiLlson, commerJoe AFs,@-", -v.:;J8 r., • ugene • Pa dberg, r., ~ 3 ;P;;~ COPIES TO, AF - 2 (loc) IRC-~ ~ AFS - 5 (100) ie~-DLF~ ~- AF /PRO - Mr. Reeves - 1 Commerce - Mr ~so~ =========:5S'/-P..'s~_F7=2:T:?;-c,- treasury ...-- AF - Mr. Dolgin EUR Il Cl E B& , c... ED - Mr. Kenn¥y E ~ 1 (tor Exill Bank) // ' • lOA - Mr. Fleshe American Embassy, ACCRK' / , 1\) Mr. I.e American Embassy, LONDON /' C G - 1 (lee) American Embassy, OTTAWA ~ "- ==========~==========================-====~ (' Today's meeting was requested by Ambassador Chapman who had indicated he wished ,', to ascertain what developments had occurred within the United States Government r',_" since hie talks on May ll, 1959, with the Aoting Secretary. Ambassador Chapman is n '!,' scheduled to depart Washington tor Accra on June 4 tor three month4 I home leave. ~"'! '!J Ambassador Chapman opened today's discussion by stating Prime Minister Nkrumah was relying heavily on his conversations in July of 19$8 with the President and the Government of Ghana, since its civil servants are limited in number, hoped it could rely on the good serviceS<0f&tt-~~ r ~ted States in getting the Volta Project underway. " $ ~~ ... ~en ~ n""'~ • E .. 'tor"'" ___________________ " .. I ... 9 F.F. IC:.tA L .~. .ql! LY .. .I ... v • • ') J • • j. . ". ••• • .• •. . , " : .. '.. : ... 2: \.: . ,. ' .:: .". I 1 ~ I Mr. Ferguson's request Messrs. Flesher and Wilson outlined recent activities of lCA and the Department of Commerce with regard to the Volta River Project. Mr. Flesher referred to a letter dated May lB, 1959, ~ich Mr. Edgar F. Kaiser sent to Prime Minister Nkrumah, a copy of which was forwarded to ADi>assador Chapman (Attachment I). Mr. Flasher said he knew the aluminum companies are discussing the Volta River Project but he had nothing to report today with regard to any progress these companies have achieved. Mr. Wilson reported the Department of Commerce had compiled a list of the firms which had expressed their interest to Commerce in the Project as a result of the publicity Commerce had given the Reassessment Report. This list which is only partial Mr. Wilson said included a 'nwuber of blind inquiries which had been made through ~tt0Ineys who do not care to reveal the identity of their principals at this time. Among the firms which have expressed interest in studying more fUlly the in!o~tion available on the Volta River Project Mr. Wilson stated are: Aluminum Limited Sales, Incorporated; ~terna~ional_ General ,Ele~tric Company; , Lazard Freres and"Company; Westinghouse International.. Electr;c Company; Banco Nazionale deLavoroj two EuroJ>8an embassies; MachineI7 Institute.; Brown and Root, Huston, Te~s; Socony-M~bil Oil of New York; Kaiser Industries; Aluminum C~mpany Company of AlDeri,?a, Reynolds; _ Anacon~a Copper; , and Olin Mathieson~ Mr. Wilson l1lentioned ~at while" these wer~ some of_the larger firms , interested :in s~udying the Volta River Project, no inference should be drawn therefrom that they are ready to c~mmit themselves. Mr. Wilson then related that the number of firms respond- ing to Commerce's bulletin on the ,Volta River Project which had appe.red in its publica~Eln Investment Opportunities Abroad, has been five times as great as the usual response Commerce generally rec~ives. In this connection he said one should not infer from ~s reaction that the companies are favorably inclined. Such an inference he said would be premature and the only conclusion that can be drawn at this time is that these companies are giving careful high level consideration to the Volta River Project. Mr. Ferguson mentioned that among the companies mentioned by Mr. Wilson he believed there are some firms who are interested only in selling the products they manufacture. . Mr. Wilson replied at the present time it is difficult to sort out what the interest of these firms might be. Some interest on the public utility side he said has been evidenced by inquiries received frcn Huston and Dallas, Texas, but it is not known what these interests are at present. Mr. Wilson then related that the Volta River Project and the activities of the Department of Commerce with regard thereto are being closely followed by the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for International Affairs. To Mr. Ferguson's inquiI7 whether Ambassador Chapman had talked to officials of the IBRD, Ambassador Chapman replied he had seen Mr. Blowers of the Exim Bank on May 20; that Mr. Blowers requested additional copies of the Reassessment Report and told him it would be at least a month before the Bank would be in a position to discuss the Project with him. Ambassador Chapman added that he expected to see Mr. Knap of the IBBD on May 21. L ; • 1 ; ~ r.~~~~--4-----..., ....... . . ~ . !OUicu:L :USI- ... . . O~y : :. ... '..... ... ., [ ... OF,FICIAL ,USE" 9~~ "I. . , v p ' , , "'---""""""'-'r-, " • " • I • , ,. I , ' ''' : .. ' : J.- ' \ ,.. ~ .3 I~~ ~ .," •• " ~ : I To Hr. Alcwei'e inquiry of Mr. Wilson as t.o the identity of the two Europea~ embassies which had inquired of t.he Department of Commerce regarding t.he Volta Project, Mr. Wilson said the embassies were the Embassy of the Netherlands, and the &!bassy of Sweden. Mr. Ferguson commented that in recent months the Netherlands and Sweden had been showing an increasing interest in Africa. Mr. Ferguson said t.he Department of State would be talking shortly to the IBRD. Upon Amassador Chapman's return to Ghana for holidays, Mr. Ferguson said ne hoped the Ambassador would assure Prime Minister Nkrumah that the United States Government will see that the name under the Volta River Project does not go out. The Acting Secretary, Mr. Ferguson said, as a follow-up to his talk with Ambassador Chapman, is seeing representatives of the Kaiser Company on May 27. The Volta Project, Mr. Ferguson added, is of such magnitude howevel;" that the "chicken and the egg" question cannot be solved overnight. The- Office of Middle and Southern African Affairs Mr. Ferguson indicated would continue to be the Embassy of Ghana fS contact with regard to developmenta within the United States Government. Mr. Wilson expressed the hope that he would be able to present shortly to Ambassador Chapman copies of the publicity which had been given tbe Volta Project as a result _of Commerce's efforts. A great deal of secondary publicity was generated he sa!d as a result of Co~erce's efforts but Commerce has not been able to run this down. Ambassador Chapman inquired if the United States Government had contemplated setting up a ste~ring committee on the Volta Project in which the Ghana Embassy could participate. Mr. Ferguson replied we had not thought about it but would give it soma consideration and give him an answer. Mr. Ferguson added it might be 8 good idea to bave periodic meetings with the Ghana Embassy even if a steering committee was not set up. Ambassador Chapman then asked whether it would be possible for the United States Government to arrange a program indicating what steps should be taken over the coming months. Hr. Ferguson replied it would be difficult to set up a step by step program inasmuch as private companies are involved and the United States Government can not tell the companies what they must do. The aluminum companies he said have been "playing it close to their chests", nevertheless the United States Government intends to make periodic inquiries of them. Ambassador Chapman closed today's meeting by stating that the Ghana Embassy will talk to the Exim Bank next month and mentioning the fact that Kaiser should finish its preliminary work at the dam site by November. Ambassador Chapman reiterated that his Government appreciated the United States Government's assist- ance on the Volta Project and that the Prime Minister was relying heavily on the talks be had bad with President Eisenhower. Copy of letter to Prime Minister Nkrumah from Mr. Edgar F. Kaiser, dated May 18, 1959. L ... · . • ·· . .. ·• ·· · I, , ~O~IC7AL ~SE ?~y , 1.. , ~ I . 1 " , ~ ~ ", .,. ," .... j..; v AT'l'A:baH£Nr . I "' . rc-o p y May 18, 1959 M7 dear Mr. Prime Minister: This short note to adVise you that talks in connection with the aluminum project are making progress. At this relatively early stage in such -discussiona, we are not yet in a position to be specific or definite, but I just wanted you to know that we .ave taken your assignment seriOUSly and recognize its importance. We appreciate the confidence you have extended our organization, and again I want to thank you for the courtesies shown Mr. Calhoun when he was recently in Ghana. Best regards. Sincerely, /s/ Edgar F. Kaiser The Honorable - KwaDlS Nkrumah The Prime Minister of Ghana ~ccra, ' Ghana L J , J . ~ ~ ., JO , .. a. . . ... .. ...'I J, ..o W.. IC•U • .• t ~.. :~.m-, . . .i. .~ .·.1 ·• · .. •. • ~ - · ·. • . ··· (i '''/''''1: Of" ' ""J Oifirrt) .22.) I SUBJECT: Volta River project PARTICIPANTS: Mr. J. Burke Knapp, Vice President, Int.ernational Bank for Reconstruction and Development. Mr. S. R. Cope, Director of Operations, Eurilpe, Africa and . Australia, International Bank for Reconstruction and Development.. Mr. Howard Parsons, Int.ernational Banlc for Reconstruction and Development. Mr. J. C. Satterthwaite, Assistant Secretary, AF Mr. George Dolgin, Politico-Economic Advisor, AF Mr. C. Vaughan Ferguson, Jr., Director, AFS '-; • Mr. Eugene L. Padberg, Jr., AFS I . COPIES TO: AF-~ ~ I~/ e AF RO - Mr. Reeves - 1 lCA"- IJS - 5 ~lcc) EUR . I ' . AF - M:d Dolgin - 1 BNA / SiS - 2' (lee) COlUlUerce /~ Mr. Franlc 'Wilson G - 1 1 / Treasury--- i-I! ~ ED - Mr. Kenney - 1 American Embassy, Acera ----- ~ . - i (foX' Exim Bank) American Embassy, Lon ,> , 'I ~ " 1 I I need to b. answereds (1) what will be the price of power; (2) what kind of country is Ghana, in other words, what is its future, does it have political stability; and (3) what can it offer to the investor in the way of guarantees? Mr. Ferguson replied that the Department considers Ghana to be one of the most stable "countries in Africa today and pointed out Ghana had signed an Investment Guaranty Agreement with lCA. Mr. Knapp said Kaiser's Reassessment Report. had done several things: (1) it had made major changes in the Project, such as, lowered the cost, relocated the dam and smelter sites and discovered new bauxite deposits much closer to the harbor which cut transportation costs; (2) it faced up to the fact that power can never be developed cheap enough if there is just an aluminum project and indicated there must be a development of an industrial market in addition to an aluminum smelter it Ghana is not to subsidize or carry the cost of selling power to the aluminum comp~nies at a cheaper rate. This new complex pr~m of finding industrial markets he said requires the Bank to look into Ghana's economy. To do this, he said, it will be necessary for the Bank to conduct a ne!, survey of Ghana 's " econ0!lr1'. When asked what the IBRD had informed Ambassador Chapman it would do with regar4 to the Volta Project, .Mr. Knapp said he indicated to the Ambassador that the Bank hoped._to haye a reply for him prior to his departure for Ghana on dune 4 for consultation and home leave. Although Mr. Knapp did not explicitly state today that the Bank would be willing to act as the "focal point", as suggested by Mr. Dillon t .o Ambassador Chapman, a statement by. him to the effect that the "monkey .1s now on our back" ~ould seem to indicate the Bank wilJ. do what it can ~o assist Ghana in developing and arranging some sort of financial package. Mr. Kiiapp mentioned that Mr. Black had not had an opportunity to Is peak to Mr. Dillon about the Volta Project but they would undoubtedly be in touch with each other upon Mr. Black's return to Washington within libe next few days. Mr. Knapp promised to keep in touch informally with the Department regarding the Volta Project. / / L J , ... ; , ~ ~I :' ~l~ '~ rr-l , .' ~ ~ • '" ~ .I J 'J ~ .~ , J J J • • .. •• • 4' .. ~ ... ..-..... ..' t ... • . w.__ .. . .,. I • 'h • ••, "'- . _ _ .... 6. .. .. .... ;•- .. •....-. .. _. .. . .. RM/R MAY 2 91959 FILE C' -t Dear Lynn: C ( You will recall that you mentioned to me a few • day. ago tnat the Bank mlght possibly be interested 1n certa1n aspects of the Volta Hiv et> development in Ghana. . On the occasion of Prime Minister Nkrumahts visit here last year. the United States Government undertook to assi:st him in alerting ' American aluminum eompan1e$ to the poaalbUlt1es or investment in lI%1.n1ng and pro- ductlon facll1tles in Ghana. As part of th18 errort l we alao agreed to pay halt the coat of an up-dating of the Volta R1 ver Survey by the Kai$er Indu:Jtrlea Corporat1on. S1nce then the completed Kalser report has been made available to 1ntereatec1 companies by the Depart. .. ment of Commeroe. Before any aluminum company can decide whether or not to 1nvest, 1t 1s naturally interested 1n. know1.ng~ among other things, approximate power coats. I have had discusslons recently wlth Ambassador Chapman or Ghana, and he has expressed the preoccupatiOn ot the Ghana Government with this problem. Is the Export-lJnport ~ interested in this project and would it be 1n a p<>a1tlon to h.elp the Ghanians to oonstruct e$t1matea ot adequate rates for power Which could racUlt ate deal.1ona concerning such investment"? I understand that 70U have a copy ot the Kaiser reaseessment. I would appreciate lcnow1ng whether the Bank has had an opportunity to stu~ the report, parti- cularly the Chapter on power coata. ~ S1ncerely yours, ~ ~~ / S/ DOUGLAS DILLON k . Acting Secret8r,1 ~, The Honorable -.. L¥M U. Stambaugh, ........ P1rst Vi,ce Pres1dent, SIS· RO ". '"-l Export-Import Bank or Washington, ~ ri . ~ •. •.. •. Wa.b1W,on . 2:\, . D.C.. .. .• . 1AY.1 0 1959 \ ' W' J1'I,Eliot Jr.:: tmc: I: /~/~ . ' .'::.::. -: ; A tfllHOPY bt ~a-OI'9J-'-~ • J .. ~ .. It # ~ 1'7. " • •• ... , J ·MIt", .. » ... .. . .. • , • ~ It • ,. ~ • J J.. .. J !?!'f_Sf_ .. L24 . . h£CB [ • u- , ' ~ '.o .. .'... .~ ~.'.: ,", 011 the oeca of Prl.me Minister 't 8 V181t 1:Ie1'e lu1; year~ tb$lh11te4 Sta .. GoVe~n't unde to aes18t 111m in , ,;'-;' .:;.'l:f' alertina Amer1can e.l ~. to poaa1bUlt1es at ,~_:. 1n:vestme11't s.u ,.,sllinS' alld. reduction 1.", U!:Mea in ~ IJt. S*rt. ot tb:18e.t:tort.. 'We al ~ ~ ha.l~ ta:lecost o~ aD ~t1D& or the Volt. 1l1vv b1' _ Xai.eel" Induatri.ea ._.... " ..;,:;~~yp;I}:<"'· ~~1on~ < .'" .• :~ :" y., .." ";';" t: '''''; ..~ :.::::;:;',:.:.~~f.4~~i. -. /N\;J.R:l" re,ort .baa bee.rl Jlll4eaYaU- ... eW:.e ~ 1ate:e1JtQd. ~. .' t.l1e . partmant o~ CQnmeroe... • . -. 1!L.4t_ .~v _'l __ .1 ....... . ...... 'k. .., _ .,"--~:.... . ____. ... '~',: !,... ... ,,,."~;;;f~; ;;.= ." -. ~!f;;~ .Vw.cb . . IIY& ;U1tat; .. ". '~:~~~fil 4eeiGicmiI ~ . web '1ttVe~f . . . "i ,·.· -;'" X 'UrKler~1M. ,Ao"'-'" -'l4:'k~-._it.. ... 1~o.;r;.or_~. 4 _.- '., _' "~' ~"""-_"" 1;.. .... :._.~~... ~-_. ' . _~ . ': :~. 'o:f;k~ ._ ... ....- --- ,'r'" "'f lank -v1th ill. of tl:le X&iser ~nt. .. I woul4 ~c:1ate . . . ,:~~:?:= .knOw1Dg '1* thfI Bank baa' Wan o.P.POl tua1ty to Gtuq the . , ",,' ~£:?{!J ~~ 1phe _p~J! OR ;power ~~: " ::~'c~':~i,~~~. ~~~, ... -,.~".-(~-i.!' ....'" ~~. EuaB- a. mack, Preataent, . Intc!tma.t1C1tlal Bank tar ~~-. ~o.PI!Sn1i. Concurrences: E - Mi--.- Mann - ED - Mr. Hefner ~~PEp "- )4r_' ; ~~B" 'Mf'~Y:: :Af· .. f~' Dolgin OFD:ED:GRKentlel':):!d : 5/15/5~ ; ~See , ~tt'Ad1led: b:!ue ; ft>r initials) ~j~~75~DMetz~ ·· • .. ...... .. •• •• , . Dear Genel .. .rt of this e ort, ve uso agreed .,,' ~ to pq hall' the cost of an u}Miating of the Volt iver f>UI'Yey by the , Keiser Industries Corporation. Since then, prlvnte investment te of I.C.A. have 'been in _ , 1' closo contaot ldth the aluminum industJ7 0 this subjeot, and the completed :-.' Xa1ser report has been made available to tereeted cO!1lpaniaa by the " Departaaent of CG1DlDeree. HoY$ver, be1'or the aluminum eo.":1panies oan decide whether or not to invest in a llII1elter they are natural.17 intereste