• 297839
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Vol. V No.1 2 - 15 January 1970 Price 15np
I. rN" ISSUE EDlr'I.IAL
HAPPY NEW DECADE FOR GHANA AND AFRICA?
THE FIRST AN English writer and novelist. Anthony Hal tley, making
a plea recently for the developing world. befoTe an inter-
... national association for inteUectual and cultural freedom .
100 DAYS stated that it seemed "fairly clear that during the Seventies
political instability in Asia and Africa is liable to increase
... " Earlier. he had mentioned the urgency with
OF BUSIA which. in the Fifhes, the future of the underdeveloped
countries had been contemplated and planned for. but how
in the late Sixties this movement could be seen to have lost
much of its challenge. while the urgency and human poig.
EDITORIAL I
nafllcy of the cause itself had remained unabated. Yesterday.
Happy New Decade for Ghana and the 1st of January, the new decade of Anthony Hartley's
Africa?
concern opened in dead earnest. 11 is inevitable that we should
AFRICA 3 here and now speculate on its problems and promises. at
"We Have no Altemati ... e" least for Africa in general afld Ghana in particular.
A Oye CUkwurah At the beginning of the 60s, and in the face of the volati.
Background to Uganda's Politics lity and dynamism of the opening year itself, 1960. it was easy
E. otori Akyea to be optimistic and to anticipate a decade of development
for Africa. considered as a part of the Third World. U Thant
OBSERV£R NOO'EBOOK 7 and others confidently thought that an economic growth
Cape Coast University College Agam • rate of four or five percent per annum was both desirable
aml..poSiible Jor the poor countries of Asia. Africa and Latin
POLITICS 8 America; at any rate this was in fact made the target of
Ousia's Style of Administration planning. A little more than halfway through the "develop.
fi Hesse ment decade," however. a U.N. survey ')howed that the
Ae New Administration aM average growth rate actually achieved in the "third" world Foreign Policy to that date was only 1% : and taking general and obvious
K. A Karikari circumstances into consideration this picture of "growth"
Obe Future of the Opposition just had to be described. instead. as actually a regression.
Kwamc Afreh Sincf; then- three or four years ago-the position of most
An Element of Rc~ition in Ghanaian of the poor countries has not improved; on the contrary.
Elections: 19S6 and 1969
Nannan Uphoff Ll some cases it has actually deteriorated. at least in certain
respects. Ghana, for instance. in ber capital resources. ex-
LETTERS ternal debts. and employment position. is an example of 20
such deterioration in economic terms.
Gh3nA'S Destin}
Elsewhere in black Africa the struggle for political
Help!
,..., Debating Tricks? stability and economic viability continued. but anxieti~
regarding trends and the efforts made towards amelioration
Mid·Term Break in Schools
Electorn.! Consultation or improvement could hardly be described as availing. Here
Hail Kontopiaat' and there a glimmer of hope did appear. like the promise
of gradual economic recovery in tiny Sierra leone. or some
\USCELL~"IEOUS 21 new moves made among o.C.A.M. and O.A U. members
Christmas In Kontopiaatluom towards regional advantage. Against tbese very minor gains.
, Kontopiut unfortunately. could be ranged a fonnidable aTiay of major
losses. The Nigeria~Biafra war came only fitfully near to the
NEWS SUMMAR. . .. beginuings of various eftorts toward! the search for a formula
2 THE LEGON OBSERVER 2 lanuary 1970
01 DegOliab1e pea.. this seateDce itself beiug In James Moxon's Dew book called V.:
deliberately constructed in this way to indicate Mao's G ....t est Lake (to be reviewed shortly iu
tbe essential nothingness of anything attempted our columns). we are again reminded. both by
so far to bring the war to an end. In Kenya, party the author and by Sir Robert Jackson. onetime
political opposition was formally-and finally?- Chairman of the Volta River Authority, that tbe
abrogated. while in Uganda the tragic end of Ghana economic potential is still immense. Mr.
King Mutesa n in London only compounded Moxon writes. inter alia. about our gold deposits
President Milton OOOte's scarifying dilemmas and of "the world's,: richest gold mine in the
and eventually sent him into hospital at the end Ashanti Goldfields operation at Obuasi", while
of an almost predictable assassin's gun barrel. Sir Robert recalls in his Foreword the many
South Africa continued in ber brutal, contemp- economic promises the Volta River project was
tuous, unhindered ways with her black and created to fructify and still can. In many of
"coloured" populations; Rhodesia pressed on with the pages foJlowing this editorial. several indepen-
her final arrangements to put paid to her defiance • dent writers tum our attention :.lIso to the po-
of world opinion and to the truth of British poli- tential of tbe new Busia administration. as asses-
tical hypocrisy and double-deaJing: and Portugal sed or assessable from the First 100 Days of hi~
continued in Angola to demonstrate her brutish- regIme.
ness and her contemporary incapacities. The reviews and speculations. though highly
Nor was that all. even on the political front critical at many places. should give no cause for
alone. For in Dahomey the coup game was re· pessimism, skepticism or alarm. But they should
newed---.or did it ever stop? - as Dr. Zinsou. raise a certain amount of questioning anxiety.
only a year in office. was somewhat hurriedly because they push up some elements which can
though almost politely made to j0in a couple of be taken as warning signals. like mad signs on a
previous Presidents of Dahomey now in exile long route towards a far destination. At the be·
(thus making them, surely, one vf tbe most e,tt· ginning of another decade of potential destiny for
c1usive clubs in the world !). In tbe economic sec· Gha!J1a. for Africa and the Third World. we cannot
tor of internal and external life. conditions con- afford the luxury of mere sentimentality. pious
tinued to be even rougher for Africa. Develop. and foolish hopes. banal expressivns on empty
ment capital was just as scarce. or ~s inadequate. wishes and. least of all. sycopbancy. At the open-
as ever: the much·talked about and devoutly ing of the 1970s we must face ourselves. in Ghana
wished-for 1% of gross national income which the and in Africa. with touglmess and realism. Only
developed nations could give in assistance has thus can we force ourselves to make supreme
just never materialised and will probably never efforts. Only thus can we ensure greater success
do so. Zambia's copper economy was keeping for ourselves than we enjoyed in the Sixties.
President Kenneth Kaunda a harried peripatetic. ::.. .=--~.:. _·~o-· ~_ -=----.- - -----~--o~
and also progressively indiscreet. especially in
Ghanaiail affairs. And were the cocoa growers Observer Notice
substantially better off in actual income as well
as in future expectations? Did Africa's fabulously We wish to give notice to OUI' reader·
rich goldfields benefit Abicans during this pe. writers as follows:
fI' od?. .... 1. The Observer does not accept syndica-
The facts stated above and the unspoken ted matenaI. and rejects at sight any copy in
answers to tbe last couple of questions all give carbon dupJica.te. mimeographed form-ex-
poi'llt to the diminution of the previous impor- ccpt official releases from recognised esta-
tance. the urgency. of Africa's case during tbe blishments-and material in any other forms
second half of the last decade. Partly political of duplication;
and partly economic, partly internal and partly 2, Should we iuadvertently publish any
external. the causes of Africa's parlous condition material which then appears elsewhere. or
are definable and identifiable. And, ma"ellous to which we later discover to have already
relate, little Ghana is one of these sources and appeared in another publication. we sbaU
causes of our 0,", trouble. We were a promise. put an immediate and permanent ban 00 all
and then we became a failure. for countless mil- future contributions from the author or
lions of Blacks aU over the world; when we failed . authors of such material:
the magnitude of the disaster revealed the mag. 3. We remind our writers of our reserva.
nitude of the promise as it had been. But now tiOD of the right to reject overloDg manu.
again we face new prospects; we are back to the ocripu, or to treat them iu any way that
tests. Let us see how we stand. mAk .. them a«:eptable to our editorial ruIeo,
Z January 1970 TIlE LEGON OBSERVER 3
attended tile Aburi Meeting in Ghana on 4th and
Africa 5th January, 1967. The delegates agreed among
other things "that the use of force as a means of
settling the problems confronting the country was
"WE HAVE NO ALTERNATIVE" renounced"; they also agreed on the decentralisa-
By tion of the government. the creation of Area
Dr. A. Oye C)!kwurah Commands corresponding to the then existing Re-
(Lecturer in Law, University of Biafra) gions over which the Military Governors should
THE Nigeria/Biafra war bas now lasted for more have control for internal security. It was also
than two years. There is no indication at the agreed that the salaries of displaced civil servants
moment that it will stop in the near future, since and Corporation staff of the then Eastern Nigerian
the imperialist masters of Nigeria will continue to origin should be paid by the Federal Government
aid and abet the genocidal war. This article is until March, 1967. If the Aburi Accord had been
meant to furnish the facts of the situation. fully implemented the disintegration of the now
As our nearest neighbours. Ghanaians are of defunct Federation of Nigeria might have been
course aware of the politica1, social, economic and avoided.
cultural background to this conflict. The remote
causes of this terrible war can be found in the Ahuri Accord Nullified
amorpbous entity known. as Nigeria, an artificial
British colonial creation brought about by the am at. However, after the meeting. Gowon circum-
gamation, in 1914, of two incompatibles: tbe North vented and abrogated these decisions on the advice
and the South. As early as 1920 a British Governor. of the British representatives in Lagos. who no-
Sir Hugh Clifford, had warned that any attempt to ticed that the decisions did not give Northern
weld into onc single homogenous nation "this Nigerians the authority to dominate Nigeria for
collection of self-contained and mutually indepen- ever. So Gowon nullified the whole Aburi Accord
dent native states separated from one another by by assuming the power to declare a state of
differences of history and tradition and by ethnolo- emergency in any Region. He imposed a block-
gical, racial, tribal, political, social and reHgious ade on Biafra, and proceeded to split up Biafra
barriers" was doomed to failure. into three states. This was a glaring act of bad
Fundamental Dillerence faith. Consequently, on May 30, 1967, our people
were forced to found the independent RepUblic of
The differences between the peoples of Biafra Biafra; for it was c1ear that we were no longer
and Nigeria, especially those from the North, arc required in Nigeria. and our lives and property
too weU known to be mentioned here. Whereas could not be guaranteed in any part of it.
Biafrans are noted for their permeability by cban- Biafrans did not declare their independence
ge, new ideas and modernisation, Nigerians, espe- merely as an injured people after the 1966 po-
cially the Hausa/Fulani, are imbued with a strange groms. but also because of Nigeria's bad faith
fatalism in their attitude to me. This fundamental and intransigence, her lack of remorse as well as
differ•e nce made Biafrans the object of hatred, her inability and unwillingness to provide funda-
envy and persecution by their so-caUed feHow mental human rights to a stigmatized, proscribed
citizens in the now defunct federation of Nigeria. and persecuted people. Of course no democratic
In 1945, people of Biafra-then Eastern Nigeria government bas the right to single out for des-
-were persecuted and massacred at Jos in North- truction a group of its citizens, without, at the
ern Nigeria. This was repeated at Kano in 1953. same time, threatening its own very existence. A
And between May and October, 1966, the pogroms people who have been victims of these acts of
reached a culmination point with the massacre omission and commission, as the Biafrans were
of over 30,000 people of Biaua origin. Over two in the course of 1966 and 1967, should have a
million others fled back home from all parts of the right to independence. The non-protecting state
defunct federation of Nigeria, destitute and estran- has the obligation to concede it.
ged. It was these pogroms of 1966 which ripped Gowon's only reply to this act of self-detcrmi-
open the old wounds and convinced our people nation was to declare a genocidal war against us.
finally that we are no longer regarded by Nige. This was Qn 6th July, 1967 - 30 months ago.
rians as part of Nigeria. Nigeria's conduct of tbis war will convince any
Nevertheless, we did 00: then break away. in- impartial observer that her only aim is to extermi-
stead, we helped in the search for peace and unity nate Biafrans or considerably reduce their number
in Nigeria. Our Head of State, General Ojukwu, and exploit their wealth, and not to maintain her
4 TIlE LEGON OBSRRVER
territorial integrity. Addr. ... Sth Aupst. 1968).
Only last June. Chief Obafemi Awolowo. Com- Notwithstanding. however, the imperialisls' JDi..
missioner for Finance and Vice-Chairman of the Utary. diplomatic aDd oth. .. aids to Niaeria to
Federal Executive Council called Biafrans "ene- foster her genocidal war apinst ... aDd despite the
mies" of Nigeria and openly admitted before world indiJlerence of brother·Africms to the war, we
journalists that Nigerians are using starvation as a Biafrans are determined to continue the war until
legitimate weapon of warfare against them. This Nigeria decides to call it 011. This has to be 10
explains Nigeria's obstructionist policy on the hecause we have no alternative. Biafra is the only
issue of relief for the civilian victims of this cruel home in which the safety of the lives and property
and unnecessary war. of Biafrans can be guaranteed. It is simply reasoo-
In the light of these facts it is hard to see how able, therefore, that we must continue to defend
GowDn can be fighting for Nigerian unity. If Nige- our fatherland Biafra till Nigeria and her collabo-
ria has planned to starve the whole Biafran nation rators are compelled to leavo us alone in our own
to ~eath. if necessary; if starvation is officially home. For when a people is socially hated and
declared a means to bring the blockaded and in- politically rejected, its salvation lies in a separate
jured people to their knees, then there is no doubt existence.
that the truth is gradually coming out; that geno- It is remarkable, nonetheless, that though we
cide, Dot unity, is Nigeria's aim. This conviction are determined to continue fighting for our legiti·
is at the root of our determination to resist the mate dght to self-determination, we have also been
Nigerian aggression until Nigeria and her foreign making sincere efforts to help bring about peace.
collaborators-Britain, the Soviet Union. Egypt Peace can come by war or by discussion. We in
and Algeria-realise the futility of their mad ambi. Biafra have rejected the first because we are con-
tion to deny the 14 million people of Biafra their vinced that this conflict cannot be settled militarily.
right to self-determination. We are committed to peace through peaceful
means.
AfriC8B Indiflereoce Our stand on how to resolve the conflict is
rational and objective. It is this: a cease-fire or
What shocks us here in Biafra is the inexplicable truce. followed by meaningful negotiations. with-
indifference of Africans, especially African intel· out preconditions, on the nature of future associa-
lectuals, to this genocidal war. We here do well tion between the people of Biafra and Nigeria.
appreciate the fundamental good nature of most We have also suggested the traditional African
Africans. But we also know that the imperialist method of settling disputes, and that is, that a
powers. especially Britain, who under·rate the in· mediating group made of Nigeria's and Biafra's
telligence and integrity of Africans. have been friends be allowed to resolve the conflict. But
endeavouring to confuse the issue with false thoo· it is sad to observe that. as in other matters
ries of the "necessity of the Nigerian Federation" involved in the conflict, the imperialist masters of
to Africa, and the possible "balkanization" of Nigeria would not allow Africans to have an inde-
other African countries if Biafran is allowed to pendent say, nor would they allow peace to be
exist as an independent nation. But the fact of the genuine1y sought.
matter is simple and clear. Nigeria has never been
a nation, not even after the quasi. independence of
October 1. 1960. It has heeD made up of people BACKGROUND TO UGANDA'S POLmCS
who are as different in their cultures as in their
political and economic attitudes and development. by
As for the threat of the "balkanization" of other E. Ofori Akyea
African countries, this is another devilish weapon THE tourist brochures speak of Uganda as "the
employed by the neo·colonialists to sustain their holiday of a lifetime" with "the mildest of cli-
economic interets in Africa. At trus juncture, I mates". But the politics of this East African
would ask that we note some points clearly: country is anything but mild or even smooth.
Biafra did not break away from Nigeria; she was Milton Obote has been placed in a position of
forced out. Biafra's case is different from that of destroying deeply entrenched "kingdoms" in
Katanga: Tshombe's Katanga was created, plan. order to build a nation. In this role he has had to
ned and financed by the huge foreign mining be some kind of • juggler who always faces the
combines of that province; "but Biafra's revolu· problem of performing a difficult and thankless.
tion is an indigenous expression of African seU· though much admired. act.
determination" (General Ojukwu's Addis Ahaha It is proposed to teU the story of Uganda from
•
2 January 1970 TIIE LEGaN OBSERVER
5
its independence in 1962. and. in the process, to National Congress. Lango branch, who was then
explain the assassination attempt on President under sedition and libel charges.
Obote's life in Kampala on 19th December, 1969. In the December of the same year the Lango
The story of Uganda revolves around the District Council chose Milton Obote to represent
"kingdoms" which form the component parts of Lango in the Uganda Legislature. When he won
this state and which generate most of the heat in the elections in 1958 he started showing his mettle.
rnat country.-,.he protectorate of Uganda gained Oginga and his associates had formed a Kenyan
its independence from Britain in October. 1962. African Elected Members Organization in the
It had been a British protectorate for over 60 Kenyan Legislature. Obote quickly formed the
years. The British colonialist administration had African Elected Members' Organization in Ugan-
relied on the organised kingdoms of tbe country da.
to rule. He steadily became popular and important in
The arrangement was in consonance with the the party machine and in the country. Then, in
"indirect rule" theory which had been developed 1959. a split occurred between him and the Ugan~
in Northern Nigeria by Lord Lugard and which da National Congress Chairman Joseph Kiwanuka
was the sine qua non of British colonial policy. who took one faction with him, whilst t,h e rest
These kingdoms were Buganda. Toro. Nyoro. remained with Obote. There was another party,
and Nkole. Although they did not by any means the Ugandan People's Union. Obote entered into
exhaust the entire 6* million inhabitants of Ugan- ap agreement. and later merged his party, with
da. they nevertheless formed the bulk of the po- the Union to form the Uganda People's Congress
pulation. of which be has since been the President.
The Baganda have been the dominant group in
the government of the country since the end of Grappling with the Kingdoms
the 18th century when they replaced the Bayoro.
The King of the Baganda, the Kabaka, became The stage was now set for the struggle with
to all intents and purposes a sovereign who did the kingdoms, since each of them wanted to give
not necessarily owe any allegiance to anyone, but as little as possible away to the central govern-
to himself. Besides, the Baganda started acquiring ment, but to expect the maximum returns from
British education long ago. As early as 1890 some any arrangement.
of them were already studying in Oxford and other
Universities, and so acquired British influences The Kabak. bad been exiled from 1953 to
and friends who became important factors in later 1959, partly for refusing to co-operate in pro-
grammes for democratic reform. A condition of
Ugandan politics.
his restoration had been "co-operation". Yet. in
Obot.'s Entry the [rrst ever General Elections of 1961, Buganda
boycotted the elections. They were. in fact, cla-
The Baganda and other groups were traditiona- mouring for immediate independence as a sepa-
lists who would Dot give up-any of their rights to rate state. It must be borne in mind that lhe
thecentral government. This led to a protracted Lukiko still has fanatical traditionalists in its ranks
set of negotiations for independence in which Mil- who have constantly proved to be a fifth column
ton Obote took part. to any national crusade.
He had returned from Kenya (in 1957) where However, Kiwanuka succeeded in preventing a
he had been working for many years after leaving total Baganda boycott, thus making an implacable
Makercre College, where he studied Arts. In foe of the powerful traditionalists of Buganda.
Kenya he was salesman for the Standard Vacuum An alliance between the Kabaka Yekka and the
Oil Company Limited, and so saw, at close quar- radical United People's Congress swept Obote into
ters, the Kenyan emergency and the Mau Mau. power just about a year later.
He comes from Mavuzi County in the Lango dis- It was at this stage that Obote began his poli-
trict of the Northern Province of Uganda. His tical acrobatics in making the central government
many years' stay in Kenya taught him about the government of the country, instead of the
the ways of the white settlers and the way kingdoms. He invited four members of the Kaba-
they played out the Kenyan political game. ka Yekka into the Cabinet. These included Amos
When he returned to Uganda. the country was K. Sempa, the influencial Bugandan. who became
in ferment. New laond tenure regulations had been the Minister of Finance. There were also one
made. and there was serious rioting against this Asian and one European in the Cabinet.
measure. He replaced the leader of the Uganda This policy of appeasement failed because there
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10 TIlE LEGON OBSERVER 2 January 1910
in his task of ruling? aspects of some of these subjects. we shaJJ limit
The make-up of Dr. Busia's cabinet provided OUf treatment here to an examination of the
the first opportunity for assessing the type of political handling of the problems.
government he would head. The cabinet. when 10 this respect we have to bear in mind the
its composition was announced. contained few importance of "timing" and of "public relations"
surprises. It astutely rewarded the loyalty of the in dealing with controversial political problems.
Prime Minister's old friends. and at the same Most public discussions of our external debts
time gave prominence to the Party's youthful have focused attention on whether or IDOt Ghana
public image. The Prime Minister's assignment should repudiate some of these debts or accept to
of portfolios was intriguing, in the sense that it repay all on reasonable terms. The Prime Mi-
left Busia the undisputed leader. Apart from nister has preserved an attitude of sweet reasOD-
'\. appointments like those of Finance and Trade, ableness on this matter which has exasperated
which went to recognised experts, most of the some Ghanaians. (See Kwame Arhin's article
others seemed to have been made precisely with "Why Should We Let Sleeping Dog Lie", LegOD
the object of ensuring the paramountcy of the Observer, IV/23)
Prime Minister.
Just as public clamour for a review was reach-
Little Fear of Revolt ing its pitch of intensity (which I put at about
tbe first week of November), the Prime Minister
Mr. Victor Owusu was hamstrung by being came out with his "Let us be reasonable with
placed in External Affairs - a post which he had South Africa" appeal. That intellectual Utour de
scornfully rejected under the N .L.C.-and the force" on behalf of apartheid left several of us
youthful but as yet politically unestablished dumbfounded. The subsequent clarification by the
Adade was made Attorney-General. The two Minister of External Affairs. and later re-state-
sensitive posts of Interior and Defence went to ment of the Prime Minister's own position. barely
the most loyal and predictable members of the disguised the fact that the Prime Minister had
old V.P. The large number of ministerial secre- ~ deliberately throWlrl. a lamb to the wolves who
taries was necessitated by the very size of Busia's were criticising him. Ghana's policy towards South
parliamentary majority and the need to provide \ J Africa replaced our foreign debts as the major
political experience for the'"' Progress P3!.ty's ... talking point. But if the issue seems to have eased
"whizz-kids", such as Jones Otori Atta, John the pressure in one respect. the question which
Fyon. C. o. Nyanor, H. W. Kofi Sackey. and kept on nagging was: Why should the Prime Mi-
Kwaku Baah. In theory, the assignment of two nister stake his political reputation on the defence
Junior Ministers to one Ministry should reduce of a soft-line policy towards South Africa at
the work load of ministers. In practice it could precisely this momont?
generate conflicts of loyalty which, by usefully
siphoning off youthful political energies, could Flying a Kite
prevent the making of possible mavericks. If the
cabinet is not uniformly god-fearing, this is of It is probably true that to the Prime Minister
less importance than the fact that, politically it the matter did not appear at all in this light.
is so balanced as to ensure strict adherence to Officially. there has been no change in Ghana's
party policies. In the foreseeable future, therefore, policy towards South Africa, and all regulations
the Prime Minister can keep the political direction are being enforced.. mcluding the one requiring
of the party in his hands without any fear of an South African nationals who wish to enter Ghana
internal revolt. to sign an anti-apartheid declaration. The clue to
Yet the success of the government rests on its the whole episode was revealed by the Minister
ability to preserve a united front over controver- of External Affairs when he said in an aside at
sial issues. In three months in office, there have his 10th November 1969 press conference that
been a few such controversial issues which have the Prime Minister was "thinking aloud" when
all fizzled out soon afterwards. Some of these he made his reported remarks. But the Prime
issues. such as the foreign debts and the aliens' Minister repeated the same argument in hisl
problems, were clearly forced on the government. address to the National Assembly, when he said
Others, as in the use of the storm over South that his object was to stimulate fresh thinking
Africa. seem to have been needlessly precipitated on the problem. Thus the P.M. was flying a poli-
by the Prime Minister himself. Since other con- tical kite, in the certain knowledge that a few
tributors to this issue are dealing with specific swallows would be attracted to its tail. But in
I
2 Ja"uary 1970 THE LEGON OBSERVER
1 I
that case the Prime Minister left himself virtually with the ordinary people, for which the P.M. was
no room at all for manoeuvre once his kite ran no doubt grateful, but it was the hapless Minister
of Interior who had to bear the opprobrium. In
into a political storm.
any case, whether by accident or by design, th.e
It is probably correct to say that the stat~m~nt aliens' question has become the number-one polt-
to Parliament did not carry sufficient conviction tical issue in the coootry. and it appears that, to
among back-bench M.P.'s, for it is a fact .that most people, the solution of tbat problem is a
the only occasions when the speech provIded necessary condition for the solution of all others.
inspiration for them were whenever the P.M. This view may be misguided, but the government
mentioned the word "progress" or "progressive"! certainly has given itself some breathing space
That the speech did some harm to Ghana's image while giving the people a convenient diversion.
cannot be doubted. and the effort by Radio These are, of course, the major issues which
Ghana in the weeks following. to mention Gba- have made the political limelight. either because
na"s support (and sponsorship) of blatantly anti- the government's hands were forced or because
"partheid and anti-colonial resolutions at the the Prime Minister felt sufficiently self-confident
U.N .. was obviously meant to show that we have to throw them into the public arena of debate.
1/ not moved perceptibly to the right. The episode There are other problems, however, on which one
established the Prime Minister's reputation for may say that the government's attitude is one of
moderation. In foreign policy he would considerable reserve and reticence. One such issue.
eschew the adventurism characteristic of is the problem of a civilian President to replace
the Nkrumah era. But beyond that one can only the troika-Presidential Commission. The matter
say that his judgment. nam~ly that .we can became embarrassing as a result of tbe Chair.
meaningfully talk to South Africa and mftuence
man's inexplicable absence from the public scene.
her policies. remains at best an unvalidated asser-
The Government was caught off balance by
tion a spate of rumours. When the exact position was
Logistically Unprepared clarified the public was left with the strong
impression that the publicity machinery had
But if the government had up to this time badly faltered.
appeared to be cautious and cjrcumspec~. the
issue of the aliens completely changed the picture. V Question of the Presidency
No O'!1e questioned the right of the government
to enforce the regulations on aliens' residence in But that the Government was in difficulty over
the country. especially in the light of the very the fate o( tbe Presidential Commission was once
difficult prevailing economic circumstances. Yet again made apparent by the fiasco of Me. Robert
when the government acted swiftly and witb de- Gardiner's shortlived appointment as Secretary to
termination on December 2. to enfcrce its deci- the Presidential Commission and the COlmcil of
sion. most Ghanaians were appalled by the en- State. The brief official announcement that Gar.
suing suffering. A government which had prided diner would after all remain at his E.C.A. post
itself on its sense of humane feelmg was accused. clearly signified the end of any further specula-
not of callousness, but of failing to anticipate tbe tion as to when the P.M. would find it opportune
effects o( its decisions. to ask the National Assembly to dissolve the
Rather belately the Prime Minister admitted Commissicll1. The timing thus remains locked up
with genuine regret that tbe ambiguity of the in the Prime Minister's mind. while, in the mean.
government's statement had frightened several lime, Mr. Har1ley performed the "dignified func-
a1iens to leave precipitately, who might otherwise tions" of government with considerable elan.
have qualified (or residence permits. Yet one The Prime Minister, again, seems to be taking
was entitled to ask whether a more carefully his time about coming to grips with other touchy
planned exercise in stages would not have achie· subjects. such as re-vamping the public services
ved the same results. It was also questionable tbat I amd carrying to its logical end the series of in-
the government did not anticipate the chaotic ad· t' vestigations into corruption begun by the N.L.C.
ministrative, transportation. health and other pro- It would be strange indeed if the P.M. did not
blems which the panic flight would entail. Once feel that some bold measures are ca1led for. in
the size of the problem was appreciated. ho .... ever. order to prove his determination to end once
the government acted swiftly a.nd efficiently to and for a11 the administrative practices that ch.t-
provide relief and other facilities. racterised the bad o1d days of tbe C.P.P.
The measure was. however. immensely popular So far the impression created is that the
14 TIlE LEGON OBSERVER
growth. a government may have to be very care- less nights aod ulcel1i, and the ever·"' .....t doni r
ful in the way it bandIes its foreign relations. It of the assassin's bullet or dagger. They may OVUI
is in this context that Busia's administration become convinced that they are indispensable.
faces a challenge in the traditional militant Ghana that they are men of destiny. anointed by God to
foreign policy. Unlike the country's position in redeem their people.
1957 when the economy was buoyant. the econo- Such are the men who usually win power in
my today is on the verge of coIlapse. Thus, a society. They may have talent and guts and abi-
strong economy in 1957 certainly decided in lity. but on the whole politicians tend to have or
favour of a bold and effective foreign policy. to deveJop the attitudes described lbove. It woulrl
Surely a weak economy may also dictate a weak therefore be naive for anyone to think that in
and ineffective foreign policy. Ghana the attitude of the present government
However, Busia's administration has made an party to power could be basically different from
initial impact in the field of foreign economic that of amy other party we can think of anywhere
relations. The Prime Minister's recent visit to else-past. present or future. Their polic~es may
America. Britain and France bas at least opened not be the same as the c.P.P. • but their determi-
the way to meaningful economic relations with nation to remain in power as long as possible
some of our creditor countries. will be similar. This is the first thing the Opposi-
tion must always remember. It is true of Wilson
In sum, therefore. it is pertinent to admit that to Heath in Britain. the Republicails to the De-
the hundred days of the Busia administration mocrats in the U.S. and of others.
have achieved. not very significant strides in
foreign relations. The rigid enforcement of the Long Term Prospects
Aliens' Act. and the further rescheduling of our
debts are, however, significant impacts. The Progress Party is in power and may rc:-
The future conduct of our foreign relations main io;} power for two. three or even four terms.
depends essential1y on the man we put in charge for the simple reason that an incumbent govern-
of the External Affairs Ministry. Victor Owusu ment has several advantages over its opponents.
is certainly a capable man who understands the ]t is never easy to defeat a party in power. even
"very rules of the game". But whether he will be in more politically sophisticated societies. In our
given a free hand to steer the affairs of the mini. . own lifetime we have seen Presidernt Roosevelt /
stry depends on the nature of things ~ to which elected to four consecutive terms~1932. 1936. , •
our foreign economic relations contribute a signifi- 1940, 1944-and after his death his Ics!; admired
cant part. successor, Truman. won re-election in 1948 against
all expectations. The GauIlists have been in power
in France since 1958. the Italian Christian DeIJ"O-
crats and the Japanese Liberal Democratic Party
THE FUI'URE OF THE OPPOSITION
since the end of the Second World War, tb..e
By Social Democrats in Sweden for over thirty year-i. J
Kwame Afreh The Christian Democrats were in power in Ger.
No person likes being kicked Ollt of power. Po- many for twenty years. and the Conservativ.:.~
litics is about power. and polilicians are power- had a 13-year stretch in the United Kingdom
seekers. Power is the object of their ambition. These long tenures of office occum:d in countries
Once installed in power they would hang on to which are usually cited as models of democran
it as long as possible, even into their dotage, Why can't a similar situation arise in Ghana. even
even if incompetence comes to be proved against in the best democratic conditions?
them beyond dOll bt. They come to en joy the As we have remarked above. an incumbent
power, the pomp and ceremony. the national com- government has several advantages over its oppo-
forts. the applause of the populace. the eulogies nents. It has immense patronage at its disposal.
and deference of sycophants. the reverence and And in this country the extent of government
the awe they evoke, the feeling and the belief patronage is immense indeed. It is staggering.
that they are making history. the hope that one Most 0~ the best paid jobs in this country are
day statues would be erected in their memory - I'''''' Jffices, Membership of boards of statutory
I ...:c. J Jrations. and severa1 appointments at ~1 for these and other reasons. politicians wOllla Jevels in the public sector faU directly or indirect-
often carry on when their contemporaries i 1Y under government patron.age. There is no rea-
long retired from other jobs, and in lIipite of Sleep- 1 son to expect that the government would not
2 January 1970 THE LEGON OBSERVER 15
PIONEER TOBACCO COMPANY LTD.
"
•
I' " reqUIre an
•
ACCOUNTANT
to join their Management Staff
Applications are invited from Ghanaians under the age of
32 who have passed the final examination of the Institute of
Chartered Accountants, Institute of Cost and Works -
Accountants or the Association of Certified and Corporate
Accountants, and who have had 2-3 years experience in a
Commercial or Industrial concern. Preference will be
given to those who have held a Management position and -
can show a record of leadership and initiative.
Write, giving full particulars of age, education and expe-
rience to:
Personnel Manager,
Pioneer Tobacco Company Ltd.,
P. O. Box 5211 ,
Accra.
Applications from Ghanaians resident In the United
Kingdom will be welcome.
~~ THE B.A.T. GROUP e
')f .. ,
16-------------,nm LEGON OBSERVER 2 1-'1 1910
appoint only Progress Party supporters to these aod that so long as it is led by inteUeob!a1a IIId
posts. men who always lost in the 1950. it can _
They have already filled the management com· become properly organised (which is Dot true);
J mittees of Local Councils with party supporters that the Party is a middle class party aod that
(\. and this cannot fail to have a decisive effect on it is only a matter of time before the workers.
the outcome of the forthcoming local council peasants and other members of the ebl life ,.
eJections. The dismissal of Mr. Hackman should class will reject it; that sooner or later the Party
serve as a warning to all persons holding impor- will coUapse. that it could not have WOD the elec-
tant public offices that they should not try to be tion if it had Dot been helped by inftuentia!
too independent. In addition to this the govern- members of the last regime, and so .Jri-tbis atti-
ment is more or less in control of the major part tude is like Napoleon, in his island prison of St
of the communications media. Their policies and Helena. describing and discussing in detail several'
I activities can be given maximum publicity. while mistakes committed by his conquerors on the
or those of the opposition receive only passing re- battlefield at Waterloo. They had won. he had
ferences. lost.
Even before the election the Progress Party had In spite of its weaknesses. the Progress Party J
created a fonnidable alliance of businessmen. won a massive majority. It must therefore have
chiefs and inteUectuals. This alliance ensured that had a better organisation than the oppOsition
the Party always had at its disposal cash, local parties, or reached more people or effectively
influence and brains-and tbis was onc reason j exploited the weaknesses of their opponents. or
why it won so massively. The alliance is likely to because of all these reasons.
be consolidated. if only because these groups now
have vested interests in a going concern: the busi- They Worked Harder
nessman who helped tbe Party with cash is Dot
llke1y to be forgotten in the allocation of import
licences. contracts. etc., Qor will he or the chief The fact is, during May-August, 1969, the Pro-
or tbe Party intellectual be forgotten when mem- gress Party applied modem techniques of eIec- \
bership of boards, delegations, diplomatic appoint- tioneering adapted to suit conditions in Ghana.
ments, etc. are being considered. While the leaders of the other parties were wasting
time amd quarrelling over leadership and party
Basis of Soli': Support names. labels. symbols and colours. Dr. K. A.
Busia and his closest supporters were recruiting \
The Progress Party bas, like other parties, got some of the best men and minds in the country
the right priorities for economic development- into the Progress Party. The Party had good,
agriculture, rural development, social welfare and dedicated and hardworking agents and advance-
health. Now 75% of the population are more men. who always prepared the ground before
concerned about these thicgs than, say. with ma- the big goos of the Party moved in. Throughout
nufacturing and other industrial activities. If the the campaign large numbers of student~ and lec-
government succeeds. even a little. in ameliora- turers (mostly persons who have specialised in the
ting conditions in the rural areas and in improving social sciences) studied voters' opinions and the \
agriculture, it can hope to retain for "iieveral years trend of the campaign. In many cases candidates
to come the solid support it got in the rural areas, were selected only after thorough research had
especially in tbe Akan and northern areas of been made imto their background, capabilities and
Ghana. The Progress Party at present bas the acceptability. Local and dynastic politics were
dominant ethnic group-the Akan-firmly behind also often carefully studied and taken into account
it. It is also in firm control in Northern Ghaala. in the nomination of candidates. 10 these were
If it can retain this support it can always be sure added colour. vote-catching slogans and songs. /
of 70 or more seats in any general election. and enthusiasm. The Party must have had the
money to do all these things, but it could not have
These are some of the realities of the situation
done as well as it did without a really good ./'
the opposition parties must face. ]n their own in-
organisation.
terest the opposition parties must discard certain
illusions they have about the Progress Party. It is unrealistic to hope that the Progress Party
There is a tendency on the part of ::;everaI leading will collapse from internal dissensions. Dissen-
members of the opposition parties to underrate sions there will be; several supporters will sooner
the Progress Party. To say that lbe Party is Dot or later become disappointed, disencbaoted or dis-
properly organised (which is at this woment true) illusioned; and the Party will cedaiDIy make so-
2 January 1970 TIIE LEGaN OBSERVER 17
veral mistakes. These things happen in, and to. (2) whether anyone of them by Itself aloDe can
every party. whether in or out of power. But hope to defeat the Progress Party.
it takes something more than these to make a .My own belief is that this country can afford
party collapse. Party decay, like dry rot, may at most three parties, although I think two should
take several years to show. Once persons acquire be enough. If this is so, more mergers. or a grand
a vested interest in a party, and their livelihood. merger of all the opposition parties, should be
influence. authority and power come to depend made soon. The existence of four (and, if the
upon it. they do not leave it because of the acca· ban on the P.P.P. is lifted, five) opposition parties
sional quarrel or disappointment. This is especia11y can only serve to confuse the electorate---to the
so when there is no viable or acceptablt! alterna- advamtage of the Progress Party. Aild the money
tive in sight. It is against this background of the is not there to organise several parties.
realities of Progress Party power that we must By my estimate - and It is a most conservative
consider the future of the Opposition. estimate-each of these parties. if it wants to
I myself trunk-and this is not just because organise on a nation-wide basis with full-time
1 belong to an opposition party - that the Oppo- agents, several offices, propaganda vans, etc., and
!)ition has a great future. The massiveness of the maintain year-round activity. will have to spend J
victory of the Progress Party has caused a lot between NCI50,OOO.OO and NC200.000.00 pert
of anxiety to many persons. includ~ng those mem- annum, excluding funds for electioneering. Where
bers of tbe Party itself who are concerned about is the money to come from for all of them? Many
the future of democracy in this country. Unlike businessmen who doled out money to the opposi-
the heady days of the 1950s, Gha'!lai.lns are todt':y tiom parties are unlikely to do so again at present.
more politically sophisticated. open-minded and now that these parties stand so heavily defeated
ready to listen to opposing views. Moreover, there and when there is no apparent reason to believe
is marc support, goodwill or sympathy for the that they will win in 1973 or 1974. Tn their own
Opposition than their number in Parliament may interest and in the interest of democracy, and if
indicate. (They won 44% of the votes, though they are to \Vim power in the foreseeable future.
they have only 25% of the seats in Parlia- the opposition parties must come tC'gcther to fonn
ment). Unless the Progress Party can display one big party.
a style of governmemt different from what we
have become accustomed to in this country, many The Opposition is Weak
people who voted for it because they could not
For none of these parties in the pri;;!vaiJing cou-
stomach Gbedemah will not vote for it at the
ditions can hope to defeat tbe Progress Party in
next general elections.
1973 or 1974; even one big united party may not
Attitudes may Change be able to do .so. A brief look at the state of
the opposition parties may be instructive.
It must also not be forgotten tbat many people First, the N.A.L. It has 29 seats in Parliament.
voted Progress because they thought Busia, the In terms of resources it was, before rhe elections.
arch opponent of the discredited c.P.P. . should and apparently still is, the equal .)t the Progress
he given a chance. And there were mruny people Party. Yet it was heavily defeated. In the minds
who believed that the "verandah boys" having of the majority of voters, especially in the Akan
ruined the economy and the liberties of the nation areas. the N.A.L. is an Ewe Party. or course it is ,/
through corruption. abuse of power and callous- not. but what is important is what people think
ness. power should be given to the intellectuals. of it. It is also regarded, quite unfairly, as a
the more "solid" men. and such other members revival of the C.P.P. The combined effect of these/'
of the middle class. Attitudes may be different beliefs is that the N.A.L. may never become
in five years time. acceptable in the Akan areas, or to people who
But before the Opposition can nope to defeat would rather die thm see the return of the C.P.P. v
or substantially reduce Progress Party support at into power. Moreover. since the eJections this
the next general elections. they should convince Party has lost its leader, two deputy leaders and
the electorate. by 1973 the latest. that they have several leading members. some of them its most
the organisation. ideas. policies. and the men 10 important leaders in the Akan areas, where the
rule this country. Time is lOot on their side. They Party is weak. These losses hav~ created the
should begin now. First, the opposition parties impression that the party is disintegrating. and
must ask themselves: tbis impression can only have a demoralising
(1) whether the country can afford more than effect ~n its supporters.
two or at most three parti~. and The ~emaining parties are elecmrally insignifi-
18 TIlE LEGON OBSERVER 2 January 191:0
cant. The U.N.P. is large1y regarded as a Ga Party, with its superior organisation. was therefore
Party_ Its two most important personalities-Joe able at an early stage to convince the electorate .I
Appiab and Modesto ApaJoo--werc heavily de- that it alone had the ideas and the men to deal
feated in the elections. The leaders of the P.A.P. with the country's problems. In many cases by the
and the A.P.RP. were also defeated. Many peo- time the other parties started moving in the Pro-
ple think tbese three parties will 5QOner or later gress Party had already sewn up a particular./
die a natural death. They are short of money, constituency. The Opposition cannot afford to re-
logistical material and nation-wide support. Who peat this mistake. Next time Dot only will the
would put his money on a dying horse? Progress Party have its own propaganda rop·
Yet the disappearance of some leading memo chinery. but the governmental machinery will also
bers of these four parties from tbe political scene be at its disposal.
would be a grevious Joss to the nation. Gbedemah The opposition can only hope to reach the
has unrivalled experience in financial administra- people through efficient organisation and excellent
tion. Joe Appiah and Modesto Apaloo fought and agents. During the Jast elections. the N.A.L. had
suffered for freedom and justice i'1 this country. the organisation, but in many areas had the wrong
De Graft Johnson proved, at least in his political type of agent. Many of these agents and organisers
broadcasts. that he has got good. Uberal ideas. were fallen men, then living in poverty or at least .
And if through lack: of necessary support P. K. K. in reduced financial circumstances, and more in- v'
Quaidoo loses his seat in tbe next elections. Par- terested in making money out of the Party than
liament and the country would lose a brave and in getting the votes for it. They sent to their bosses
talented man. But a party which has such men exaggerated or false reports; they were always
in its leadership would be a match for any party demanding money. more money, in the name of
in Africa. party organisation, but in actual fact for their
own pockets. Others, more honest and sincere.
They Must Coalesce applied outmoded methcxls of organisation-the
techniques they learnt during the c.P.P. days.
Can we hope that these stalwarts. and the large
Other opposition parties had similar agents.
number of able. well-educated and talented young
These agents, provided with sufficient funds and
men in their respective parties will come together
propaganda vans, could draw in the crowds to
to form a fonnidable political party? I believe
launchings and rallies, but they lacked the ability
such a union is possible. But one must admit it
to penetrate into or through Progress Party strong-
will not be easy to bring this union about. It is
holds or organisation, or to persuade the floating
not because these parties have fundamentally diffe-
voter. Many of them were of course personally
rent philosophies and ideologies. The cause of
their division is personal. Pre-election manoeuvres objectionable because of their background as
C.P.P. party hacks. v
and abortive merger talks have created mutual
suspicion. distrust and , in some cases, persona] A More Enterprising Opposition
dis1ike, among the leaders of these parties. Vanity,
ambitions for leadership. sentimental attachment The opposition parties need a new type or
to names, labels and symbols. are all that is keep- organiser. The front men should be men of inte-
ing these men from coming together. It may even grity, sincerity. ability and intelligence. Persons
be difficult to persuade many of these leaders to with dubious backgrounds should be firmly re-
sit down together and talk. But I think every moved. The new organisers should be trained in
attempt should be made to bring them together. modern techniques of party organisation and be
It will not be enough to unite the opposition well versed in party ideology. They' should be
parties. They must be able to offer alternative capable of organising at all levels of the societ).t e-
policies and produce a leader or a leadership who of exposing the weaknesses and mistakes of the J
or which would be acceptable to the people as an Progress Party, and of explaining, convincingly.
alternative Prime Minister or government, as the their own party's policies. It will not be easy to
case may be. This should not be one of the greatest find such men. but it is not impossible either.
difficulties facing the Opposition: a united oppo- The opposition must from now on attack the
sition will have the men with the ability and the Progress Party on all fronls-exposing its class
ideas to rule effectively. character, its innate conservatism and paternalism.
The problem is to get to the people. The sad The Progress Party may eventually fall under the
thing about the last elections is that most of the domination of big businessmen. reactionaries.
J brilliant and exciting ideas of the opposition chiefs and persons who do not believe in such
parties never left the meeting rooms. The Progress things as equality, the need to radicaUy and ra-
2 January 1970 THE LEGON OBSERVER 1q
pidly ameliorate the conditions of the. workers. the south of Zone N in the 1969 election, but the
the poor, and tbe sick. Such persons .wlll al~ays zonal showing was not different.
resist any social welfare measures whIch eat . ~to TABLE
their profits or undermine their dominant pOSition 1956 Election 1969 EJection
in society. The opposition must be always ready Zonu Zone Zone Zonts Z(mt. Zont' 1&11 11/ IV , &/11 II IV
to expose them. (I) Percent or
all seats in
This country needs a strong opposition. It needs parliament 4" 0 , • /0 20~~ J8°~ 51 ';co 16~o 33~·~
a radical alternative to the "pragmatism" of the (2) Percent orall
~ealS yon by
Progress Party. It needs a party which is dedicated CPP. (1957)
or P.P. (196 , ). 6 2 •% 11 % 27"··.· ,~65,".
to the cause of the siJent majority- the ebi nte yie
(3) Ralio or
/o--to equal opportunity and social justice for ~ll; (2) to (l)
in sum, a party which is prepared to fight With (4) Percent of
sealS in zone
all its might to bring about a social revolution in won by
C. P.P, (1957)
this country. A united party outside the Progress
(o1r9P6.9P) . 100 % 38% 49% "% 59.... 52"% Q ,
Party can provide this alternative. Such a party In 1956, the N.P.P. won 8 01 26 seats in the
must concentrate its energies in winning power North, and the Togoland Congress won 5 of 13
in 1973 or 1974. or at the latest 1979. seats in the Volta Region; 13 years later, the
This can be done with hard work. sacrifice and N.A.L. won 8 out of 30 seats in the North and
good men united in one great cause. But s~ ~ong 14 out of 16 seats in the Volta Region. Some
as the opposition parties continue to be divided wouJd prefer to consider the Volta Region sepa-
and to hope for the collapse of the Progress Party. rately, but I think we get more insight into ethnic
so long will they be in the political wilderness. voting patterns by considering these three non-
"\~ Akan regions as a common electoral area.
AN ELEMENT OF REPETITION IN The key variation between 1956 and 1969 is the
GHANAIAN ELECTIONS: 1956 AND 1969 political posture of Zones II and III. Zone I, the
By heartland of Fanti and Akwapim people. is part
Norman Uphoff of the "core" area for both c.P.P. and P.P. in the
WE ALL know the saying. history repeats itself; two elections. But in 1956, Zone II joined with
we also know that we should not take this saying Zone I to make a solid pro·c.P.P. bloc. while in
too literally: histo ry does contain many surprises 1969 it was Zone III joining Zone I to make a
as it unfolds. But one historical parallel in Ghana- nearly-solid pro-P.P. block. Interpreters of elec-
ian elections has suggested itself to me which I tion results can make what they will of the fact
think: interestingly casts light on the controversy that Zone II was the homeland of the leader of
about "tribalism" in Ghanaian politics. the c.P.P. (the area of hi s birth and of his par-
I would suggest that the 1969 election followed liamentary constituency). while Zone II is similar-
a pattern almost identical with that of 1956. Gba- ly the homeland of the P .P.'s leader (born in one
na's last free election before tbe one last of the two regions and poHtically active in the
other).
August. As we know. the c.P.P. won the ] 956
election almost as decisively as tbe P .P . won in The difference between the two elections, and
1969, with 70% of the parliamentary seats 05% not a very great one, is that the P.P. did better in
for the P .P .). A break-down of election results Zone II in 1969 than the c.P.P. did in Zone ill
by zone (not simply by region) shows striking simi- in 1956. The dynamics of party politics appear
larities. (See Table accompanying). 50 similar in the two elections, if one just reverses
the role of Zones II and Ill. I am not suggesting
Let us consider Ghana as divided into four
that the question of whether or not the 1969 elec-
zones: the Central and Eastern Regions make up
tion featured an Ewe·Akan split is moot, but I
Zone I; the Western Region and Greater Accra
am suggesting that intra-Akan pOlitical competi-
make up Zone IT: Ashanti and Brong-Ahafo make
tion may have been as important or more impor- ,
up Zone III; and the Volta. Northern and Upper
tant in shaping the electoral outcomes. The North
Regions make up Zont: N. As we do this. the
first thing which becomes clear is how similar was and the Volta Regions appear to have been some-
lhe voting pattern of Zone IV in both elect.ions. what political by-standers. giving seats to the
when each time. 70% of seats went to the winning party in approximately the same ratio as its
winning party (C.P.P. and P.P. respectively). the did the rest of the country. Practically two-thirds
same proportion as went to these parties national- of the seats were in Zones I. IT and ill, and this
Iv. It is true that the opposition was stronger in was where political fortunes were to be made or broken.
~W~ __________________~ l~H~B~LEGO~~N~O~B~SB~RVB~R~ __________~ ~
openly.
Letters And J am. left ..l ib a problem.. I lave be 7 ....' J bani to formulate a criterion by which to ditties ...
between the pip aad tho mea. at tho cad of ox ...
Gu. .• • "Animal Fann". I have almost faUm oat of fIIY ... J)estiDy
with tbiDkinl. I don't think I ever can have thia cd. .
Sill-National revolutions are like ocean storms. They terion. No, I cannot.
throw up towering waves with snowy crests. These are Can you'?
brought about by true revolutionaries, sincere patriots Ah"o HaD R..EiE' n eI 1[.17 h
and historic leaders such as Ho Chi Minh, Gandhi.
Lenin, Castro, and Nasser of Africa. No, we Nlnnot - Editor.
However, some revolutions bring to the surface dirt
and debris which a calm sea conceals. The engineers of
these tend to be people without ideals or principles. and Debotluc TrIcks?
whose only interest in the revolution is to satisfy their SIR - Some of us who read his article (LO. IV /24 •
ambition. thirst for power, and greed for wealth. 25) wondered whcther Ianoramus's intention was to
A British-type ceremony marked the transfer of power whip Educ:at or to present facts. Educat never stated
in Ghana from the National Liberation Council to a that the Volta Region was with the losing aide in
democratically elected civilian government at the giant general elections before 1969, nor that there was ~
Black Star Square in Accra. Obviously the country faces conspiracy to neglect that region (L.O. IV/ 22); Ignora-
numerous problems. mus created these nnd other points on Educat's behalf
The solution of these problems requires a scientific and then pilloried him for them. Why should Ignon-
detachment and objective assessment of all available mus include mission hospitals in development projcctw
resources and attainable ends, and, above all, a confi- in the V.R.? Are some Ghanaians to live on the
dent spiritual approach. benevolence of ruigsionary societies?
The conservation and balanced use of Ghana's soil. It seems Ignoramus is either makinl a pretence at
minerals and other natural resources cannot be achieved ignorance or is out to deceive us with dishonest debat-
by technique alone nor by any mechanical means. Nor ing tricks. I suppose he does not mean it, namely that
can it be achieved if initially there is a disregard of the five government hospitals worthy of that name. and
human factor. Inevitably there must be equality of thc Adami Bridge, are in the V.R .• or does he? Would
opportunity in the use and training of natural skills and Ignoramus make us believe that the N.L.C. did not
talents, access to education and "equity before the law" favour the P.P. by giving its leader a post - despite
without prohibitions on grounds of race or of some his frank declaration of intention of forming and
pre-conceived dogma. leading a political party - whereby he made a very
Our present struggle must be fought with a two- early start in the political campaign? If he asserts
edged sword. First we must fight outside poUtical "inva- that the P.P. did not isolate other parties on tribal
ders", and secondly, our corrupt "politicians" must bases. let him explain Mr. Joe Appiab's statement after
be fought and vanquished. Wc have suffered too much the elections that there had been a campaign against
frustration in thc past and we have as well messed him on tho grounds that he had joined hands with
about. Ghanaians should now completely eschew in- the Gas.
efficiency, mismanagement, day dreams, corruption, ne- 1t was a pity, and perhaps an impudence. that
potism, sycophancy, and prcstige schemes of doubtful Ignor.lmus should without cause have smeared the
value which contribute to the running down of our N.L.C. members who were at the head of the police
economy. service with the mud of party politics. What does he
11., Valley Road Kofi Kissi-Debrnh think of others "ho went campaigning for the P.P-
LondoD) S.W. 16 (Her.lld, Monday, 11th-Friday, 15th August, 1969)1
---- Mllmprobi Kofi Blay
Accra
Help!
Editor's Note: Mr. Blay cnded his letter with a claim
SIR - In the United States, the ghettos are still bring- about the C.P.P. and Kwamc Nkrumah which we do
ing forth their rats, junkies and hustlers. And yet there not, on policy. wish to enter here as a dcbating point
is the capacity to bettcr this in a week. The Vietnam at this stage in our national reconstruction.
and Nigeria-Biafra wars are being fought primarily
because the military-industrial complex must rid itself Mid-Term Break in Smoo"
of some of its wares. The choice of sides is the work
of myth·spinning intel1ectuals. In the Soviet Union, 5IR-I refer to an article in your issue of 21st November
people nrc suffering persecution for advocating human 1969; (L.O. IV/24) with the title "Mid-term
kindness as against doctrines. Break for Schools" by one B. Milliyar of the Sehool
Both in South Attica and the Middle East, techno- for the Deaf, Wn. To him, the mid-tcnn breaks for high
institutions are uncalled for. His reasons for makin.
logical superiority supplemented with contra-rational
the statement reveal that he is quite ignorant of the
myths have become the basis for depriving millions of
bumans their right to life with dignity. mid-tenn breaks.
Over here at home we al1 have filed past the seven- Mid-tenns arc Dot mere stock-tatmg and rest periods:
ton trucks fil1ed with human caUle (weak, old teachers are not expected to mach every thiq. aad
and infant cattle in this special case). The bishop! and this is the period given to students to .,....,. up for the Ie
their priests too have filed past; they kept quiet and things. Also, not all parents wiD. be able to pay their
in keeping quiet smiled where the Cbrist had wept children's school fees durina: the bClinnq of tm:m. to
2 Jaauary 1970 TIlE LEGON OBSERVER 21
that, when tbis small time is given, it is hoped that tion of Alex Moore. My reputation bad a knock when
they would be more able to get some money to pay I failed traditionally to acknowledge either all the nice
the fees. appellations belonging to me tbat one of the drummers
The arrangement of Mid-tcnns is justified, and I cannot beat out or to respond to tbe request for a drink by
see the simplest reason for objecting to it. the hom blowers, My grand-father, who drew my
Mawull Smool Theophilu!iI HOPCSOD Ta'Wiab attention to all this and who had hitherto reckoned me
Ho among the most learned men in the world, began to
wonder about the sort of education I had been given-
Electorate Consultation an Akan-born who could not acknowledge his appella-
SIR - Our former M.P.s. having over-enjoyed city tions on the drums!
life and fclt big, did bate to visit their own viUa~es On Christmas Day itself only two groups of people
and constituencies. Those who were compelled by cu- did go to work. The palm wine tappers and the staff
cumstances to pay short visits to their villages did so of the Don't-Mind-Your-Wife Chop Bar. Unfortunately,
gingerly and sometimes "under cover". The end re.sull neither the Academy of Arts and Sciences nor the Food
of this behaviour was that both M.P. and electorate Research Institute nor the Legon Department of Home
did not get to know as' much of each other as they Science has so far been able to discover ways of pre-
mould have done. Let us not repeat that. serving palm wine, even for a single day. The only
Our M.Ps are now in long recess. It should be like way to ensure the flow of this favourite of Kontopiaat-
school: when a school is on holiday, all the studeo!' k.rom is to tap it twice a day. (With apologies to Amos
go back to their villages and towns to stay with t!J.elr Tutuola and his legendary Palm Wine Drinkard Tap-
IErents and leam from them as well. But. what do ster! )
we see now in respect of the n~ M.Ps, now m recess? It was when early in the morning on X'mas Day I
Why are they not going back to their constituencies. paid my first visit to our palm wine bar, tbe scat of
as they did during the recent political campaign, to democracy in Kontopiaakrom as it is in Dompokrom.
tell the electorate now what is happening in the Na- tbat I realised what tbe day had in store for us. For the
tional Assembly? first time in my life I saw a queue of nearly half a mile
I call on our Assemblymen not to make Accra their long. The rashness of my open invitation in tbe last
pennanent home and forget their electorate. This is issue of the Observer then dawned on me, In the
very necessary because most of us cannot read and queue were people-big and small scholars, old aod
have no access to other sources of information; and middle aged civil servants, many of whom had oat been
many of us who can read and write cannot afford IOnp seeo in Kontopiaatkrom for decades. To save the situa-
every day for Hansard. tion, we agreed on a ration of one.man-one-calabasbful.
Achimola VillBge F. C. Essandob But even this arrangement, wbich was meticulously
Acblmota. observed, could not meet the demand of even half
the people present.
Hail Kontopillat! From here we all moved to the second item on the
programme, namely the pouring of libation in the Ahen- .
SIR - I wish to join the numerous readers of the
fie or palace. You see, it is a practice among Kontopiaat-
Legon Observer to bail Kontopiaat for his contributions
to this paper during the past year. We wish him bom citizens who have made good (fbe Ebi-Te-Yie fo) 3-
and who visit home to call on the chief with a bottle
Happy New Year, and look forward 10 more of his
captivating stuff, of spirits, usually Schnapps, for libation to be poured
be on his behalf. This being the occasion that it was, Glory to God in the highest, and peace to the
people of Konlopiaatirrom! all the visitors turned up with a bottle o r two of schnapps.
Zoology Department Ceo. Nartey Tetteh Together witb tbe stock saved during the electioneering
Leo .. campaigns, the number of bottles that soon piled up
looked really formidable . The Chief Linguist was there,
together with all the other wing chiefs and elders, the
Miscellaneous Kwadwom singers, the hom-blowen, tbe Ntahara group
and of course the traditional dancing orchestras of Kefe
and Adowa. It was a really fantastic sight, as all the
CHRISTMAS IN KONl'OPIAAIKKOM Yisitors, with their cloths to their waists and barefooted,
By formed a semi-circle facing the chief, who was flanked
on both sides by his chiefs and elden.
Kontopiaat
After a spate of Kwadwom singing, born-blowing and
I AM truly sorry for all those who failed 10 come to
Kontopiaatkrom for Christmas. It is true there were no Kefe dance music, the chief linguist was called upon
X'mas cards, no roasted Turkeys, no X'mas pudaings, to begin the ceremony. He took one of the large bottles
and not much church-going either; the "ingredients" for of the realIy old, genuine schnapps in a square
X'mas in Kontopiaatkrom are quite different. At the ex- bottle, the kind with drawings of three-penny pieces on
treme ends are Palm WiDe and Henkes Schnapps respec- the shoulder (obviously smuggled in from Togo), and
tively, the drink on whieh the Asante Empire was built. began the Hbation. He first called upon God, tben the
And at the centre, solid and tasty, is Green-Green! Earth, then the gods (all 77 of them) and rivers of the
The celebration started on Christmas eve, that is, tbe village, then the seven clans into which all the people
night or the 24th, with an Adowa and Kete display of tbe vinage are divided, and indeed all Twi-speaking
under the big tree in the ceotre of the town. Middle-aged peoples, namely, Oyoko, Aduana, Ekoona, Bretuo, Agona
women wearing bair-dos looking like men's danced with Asakyiri and Asenee, and finally the ancestors of the
such grace and precision as would have won the admira- chief and elders and all tbe people around, to come for
drink. He then told them why we had all as$Cmbled,
THE LEGO. N .O - BSER. VE- .R
asked for long llfe and prosperity for all present, and usually a brand new 000 boucht for tbe O"X"'';OD. aDd
begged them not Co .render any of the- men there impo- paid and received more visits.
tent and to protect all tho civil servants and It:acben The climax of the celebration came with a areat
there from the machinations of their rivals, etc., etc., etc. dinner at the chop bar. This was a Dow:l feature aod
Most unusually but obviously because the pile of bad been arranged for tbe entertainment of the visiton.
drinks was so higb. the chief linguist was so generous All the palm. wine in the town had been commandeered
to tbe gods and ancestors that by the time be ended for the occasion and the chief also generously scat us
the libation, balf the bottle bad been poured on the cases of drinks, left-oven from the previous day. The
ground. The end was greeted with yells of approbation, usual QTCbeslras turned up. It was a truly fantastic
and tben with drumming and dancing. After tbat the occasion. The green-grccn was at its most authentic and
boozing began! Since only one glass wa.s used to serve its tastiest, and there were pots and pots of it. When
all present, the process was very slow, but then we had the party broke up by mid-night-a very very late bour
all the word to ourselves I As more drinks were tossed for Kontopiaatkrom-all the losses of the previous day
down and more libations poured (or later arrivals, the bad been more than made good.
atmosphere became more festive, the dmmming more This then was how X'm:u was celebrated in the lreat
complicated, and the dancing more vigorous and ex- village of Kontopiaatk.rom. As any unbiased reader
pressivel can gather, it was celebrated with pomp, pageantry and
Just past Doao, people began to repair to their homes in grand customary style. One notable feature of the
to commence the third item on the programme. ,It must· whole celebration was the rate at which empty bottles par-
be pointed out that while the sessions were gomg on- at ticularly the schnapps and beer ones, disappeared! Whilst
the bar and at the Ahenfie, attended mainly by the male- nobody would touch an unopened bottle, no sooner was
folk, the women-folk remained in the hOllie weeping and one opened and emptied than it disappeared. What tho
wailing. You see, Cb.ristmas Day in Kontopiaatkrom, is peopJe of Kontopiaatkrom do with these empty bottle~
the day not for celebrating the birth of Christ but on were they for the local "V.C. 10" distilleries?-J could
the contrary for remembering all those who died in each not find out!
family in that year. Since it would appear that. almost
every family or bouse had lost somebody during this
year, one encountered weeping wherever one turned. N ews Summary
Tbe return borne of tbe men of course only stirred up
the women and the wailing grew louder. At borne, the Accra December 29 •
bead of the family, as well as the visitors, produced A NEW scheme for more fellowships to Ghanaians to
drinks. And here too, everything began with the pouring study in institutions in the United States was announced
of libation by the head of the family, during which all today by the head of a new organisation, tbe Venerable
the ancestors of the family and all tbe family gods were Bright-Davies (Ghana) Enterprises. The scheme was
called upon first, then the clan of the family; and then announced and described by tbe Rev. Mr. Bright-Davies
the usual requests for blessing, long and trouble-free himself.
life, fertility, etc. were made, followed by tbe sharing of The Rev. gentleman represents a group of American
the drinks. benevolent societies, who are financing the scheme. He
The fourth item was of course the exchange of visits. said that the students shou1d be in America during
Children visited their fathers, husbands called on the tbe next academic year, if all goes well with the planning
parents of their wives, the young civil servants and Acceptability will be determined by an examination.
scholars called on the elder ones, and during each visit Mr. Bright-Davies said that be believed there were
more drinks were had, each preceded by a short libation. lots of talented Gbanaian youth who could be assisted
These visits continued well into tbe evening. to become useful and constructive citizens of the coun-
The next day, 26th, is known in Christian circles as try. The scheme was also intended to include r.;everal
St. Stephen's Day and in England as Boxing Day. which otber projects, one being an infant care and pre-school
bas notbing to do with the Bukom Square past-time but centre. Others would be a researcb institute and a marital
rather because of the custom in England of giving boxed clinic embracing a campaign against polygamy and
presents to employees.on tbat day. In Kontopiaatkrom, parental delinquency.
however, we call it the Abinkyi, or Eating Day. As you
will have noticed, there was hardly any time for food, Trade Uniorn.s.s to Israd
and I am certain tbat over three-quarters of the adult TliE Ghana T.U.C. and the Ghana Federation of Farmers
popUlation of Kontopiaatkrom did not swallow a morsel Associations despatched nine employees to Israel during
of food each on X'mas Day. Naturally therefore the 26th the week-end to do a 4-month course in ··Cooperation
was devoted to nothing but eating. and Labour in tbe service of De,,·e!opmcnt". They are to
The day opened with the slaughtering of goats, sheep study at the Afro-Asian Institute for Cooperation and
and, above all, chickens, and of course the Dont-Mind- Labour.
Your-Wife Chop Bar had been cooking throughout These award winners will study under a scholarship
X'mas Day for the big green-green dinner arranged scheme funded by the Israel government itself. The men
previously. A few hardy ones visited tbe palm wine are Messrs F. K. Asbun, F. P. O. Kugbe, E. M. Amuzu
bar, but by ten o'clock in the morning the whole village and J. B. K. Abiable. all of the T.U.C.; and Messrs E.
was rocking with the pounding of Juju in every home. O. Landy, P. A. Asare, S. A Gumah and J. H. AnuS,
An hour or so later there was complete silence, elear all of the G.F.FA There is one lady unionist in the
evidence that all males in the house had assembled delegation, Miss Rose Danquab. They will be attached
around one dish of Juju, all females around a second to settlement farms in Israel durin.& their stay. to enable
and all children around a third, to break their one-day them gain practical experience in their various trades
old fast. After thil, everybody put on his best cloth. An Israeli Embassy spokesman informed the Preu that
•
• •
2 JIllUUY 1970 TIlE LEGON OBSERVER
23
about 40 Ghanaians had already completed a similar The spokesman disclosed that the Committee had
course Undl:T Go\-'cmmcnt scholanhip previously_ drawn up a development plan costing NCIO,OOO for the
area, and involving construction of school blocks, {ceder
Aliens baITed from Ret:lil Trade roads, bridges and cul"ertll. Voluntary contributions and
THE Minister of Local Administration Mr. K K. Anti, a surtax of 20np per load of cocoa are expected to btu
has re-!>tated today that alien, issued wilh Residence Per- a proportion of the development cost.
rnlb do not by thi .. qualilY to cnga~e in petty trading. Cape COO!!it, December JO
He said it had been noticed that "Ime of tho .. e aliens
Probe Committee
allowed to slay were u .. ing their permits as warrants
for petty trading. This ",as not in conformity, said Mr. \1i, E. M A. Ablor, a lawyer and chairman of the
Anti . with the government's compl.i ance o. rder. The three-member Committee appointed to probe the affairs
pennih were ani ... to allow the permitted ahens to stay of the Cape Coast Munkipal Council stated here when
in the country. M Anti made the'c observations to speaking at the inaugural ceremony of the Committee
the Pre';s during a viSit he wa~ paying to the Makola that it had not been designed for the witch-hunting
markets, to enable him 10 !occ and judge the general of the people holding different political views from
conditions prevailing in tbese trading centres, those of the ruling Party. ~1r_ Ablor said that his Com-
mittee had been set up rattler to ensure that irregularities
NCI·\1illion for Corps which militate against progress should be removed, in
MR. R, R Ampon5ah, Mini.,ter of Lands and Mineral order that ou r new civilian government should make
Resources, at a Progress Pdrty rally held here at Ejura- good progress towards the provision of amenities for
Ashanti on 28th [)ccember, aMounced thai the govern- all the people .
ment bad \oled NCI million lowards the running of the The terms of reference of the Committee were: (I) to
proposed '!'>.ational Service Corp_ In addition, some investigate and report upon tbe cause of the financial
nahono; with an interest in Ghana-s development had weakness of the Council and (2) to recommend to the
promi....:d. he 'iuted, to help the Corp with equipment. Minister of Local Administration the measures necessary
The new Service wa<; to playa vital role in rural deve- to be taken to improve the situation. They could also
lopment Ole; well .. , to help Ih member, acquire various investigate and report upon allegations of financial and
trade skills. administrative mismanagement, and to recommend re-
Adult Education lnslifUte medial measures as well as mcasures to prevent re-
PROFESSOR A Kwapong, Vice-Chancellor of the Uni- currence of such mismanagement A.
versity of Ghana. opened the 21<;t Annual New Year \cern, Deccnlber 31
School of the Institute of Adult Education at Legon Launching o( New Corps
hlday, and announced that the Institute was to start THE new National Service Corp planned by the Progre!o,
a correspondence course programme by October of 1970. Party government w·11 be offh:ially inaugurated on 2nd
The theme of the New Year School was: The 1969 January, according to SOllrcc~ close to the Secretariat
Elcctions and After- Translating Promises into Reality. of the new organisation Rc~i'lration of interested in-
The Vice-Chancellor also said that the institute was dividuals would then ~Iart thr(\lIl!hout the country_
arrangmg for agncultural experimentation in small scale A national secretariat is e\.pected 10 be set up in Accra
production. and also for rural development at its centres afler the launching and i~ to be headed by a National
at T'iito In the Volta Region and Tamalc in the North, Organiscr R ranches .... iii be opened in all tbe regions of
He 'itatcd that the University Faculty of Agriculture Ghana It is reported over 2.000 people have already
wa'i a'isisting the Instltule m the planning stages of this e'(pressed an intere"t In Joining the Corp This inrorma-
project tion was gl\en by the Prime MlOi.,ter himself. Dr. K. A
Busia. recently, Applications sent in prior to the launch-
Workt'n Sign \~r«mt'nt ing were being recei\'ed by an Administrative Officer
TilE Ghand. ManufaetureT\ Group and the Industrial located at the Castle, OliU. as a temporary m~asure
and Commercial \VorleT'i Uni(lO of Ille Ghana Trades preparatory to the inauguration .
Union Congress have ~Igned a three years collective
agreement affectmg the employt'c'i of the Group. The Peace in 1970
General Secretary of the Union. Mr. K. Edjab, signed MR. S, R, Baiden, General Secretary of the Maritime
on behalf of the worle". and M r_ Alfred Gailie, Presi- Dockworkers Union of the Trades Union Congress, has
dent of tbe Group reprc<;ented the laller, The Agreement predicted greater industrial peace in Gbana in 1970.
was de~lgned to take effect 3'i from October 1969, and Mr. Balden said the new year must see fewer strike actions
regulates method~ of engagement. hours of work. rates and better rclattons between all the branch unions of
of pay, maternity lca\e, allo .... ancc; and annual leave, the T.U.c. and their respective managements_
The Agreement aho estabh~he~ the principle of prior The General Secretary's remarks were made at an end-
consideration for the exie;ling \lall in every case of a of-year Party for representatives of all the sbipping agen-
post falling vacant. cies represented in Ghana, The function was held at
Patriotic Gesture tile Mariners Club House at Tema last night. He said
that the TU,C. had vigorously pursued the division of
A TIMBEIl merchant at Kato, ncar Berekum. Brong-Ahafo, the Industrial Relations Act during 1969 and he and
is engaged in suppl)'ing his town ~ith electricity, genera- other union officials ex:pectcd Ghana's Parliament to
ted from a plant at his sawmill at Berelmm This would promulgate legislation to that effect. During 1970, he said
be hiS personal contribution. he said, towards the deve- the Conlress would embark on a programme to involve
lopment of the wbole area. The Town Development more women in T U_C. activities, and that every worker
Committee, through a spokesman. has commended Mr. would equa1Jy be expected in tbe new year to work
Sphere Anthony, the donor. {or his patriotic and gene- harder in order to justify their future cla.inu for higher
row ~ture wales,
24 TIlE LEGON OBSERVER 2 January 1970
Printed by the Liberty Preu Lid., for the Lqoo Society on Nationa' Affairs. Lqoa, Ghu• . Editorial Committ.: Chairman K. A. 8.
Jonel-Quarter; Memben; K. B. Dick.oo, E. Yaw Twumasi, J. Hyd~ (Treasurer). 1. A. Peuah. A. Adu Boahca, K. E. Adjei (Bu __
SecrellJ')'). S. O. OYlUldoh, 1. K. A.lytmlDf;, J, Tufuob, D. K. Ahu. Tho Uoivenity of Ghana aDd h. depattmcotl U'C in DO .'Y conn.:_
with the Lqon ObsC'r\Iet:. Edilorial and all other cOJTClpoodcnce (advc.rtili.ol, IUblCription. distribution "ener and other Mmmorc:ial .,.qdm.)
moo'''' be adduaed 10 lb. Editor, Tltft ~(", Oburvltr, P.O. Boa 11, LeaotJ. Ghana. Lic"nec No. NP/OIS/Jl8/I05.
vel'
Vol. V No.2 16 - 29 January 1970 Price ISnp
I. THIIISSUE EDITIRIAL
BEYOND BIAFRA
THE END OF FOR THIRTY months Africa and the world watched the political and constitutional barometer in Nigeria, the largest
populated country on the continent. with considerable sorrow
SECESSION and bewilderment. The wonder of many people centered on many questions: Was the secessioo of Ibos from the
Nigerian federal framework inevitable? Could the federal
IN NIGERIA government have handled the Biafran intransig::nce and
show of anger in a manner 5hort of military confrontation?
- Was the conflict actually over principles. or was it over
mrroRJALS .. . .. .. mere personality squabbles which had later been ratic nalised . . ~ I
and raised to the level of survival issues?
Beyond 8iafra These were a few of the many questions which were
Tasks for Busia Government
raised in the minds of people, who although not directly
THE ECONOMY 3 committed either to Nigeria or to Biafra, felt that the
unanticipated consequences of the "police action", as the
Ghana's Economic Problems and the federal government originally termed the attempt to rc·
New Reaime
K";"abena Achampong-Manu incorporate Biafra into Nigeria, had become too costly.
It is easy to revise lheories. now that a military victory
POLmcs 4
has been achieved over the predominantly 100 population.
Erskine May in Dusia'S Government From the beginning. after Britain and Russia had taken
Cameron Duodu
their stand against secession and had supported the unmca·
,j Ingredients of an African Ideology· tion cause in military terms, it was obvious that the defeat
The Texture of Unity
Oburoni Muntu of Biafra was only a matter of time. British support came
to mean, directly or indirectly, that the wings of America
OBSERVER NOTEBOOK 9 had been somewhat clipped. This is because America has
U Thant or the UN never really become involved in the local imperial (X)litics
Missioners of Cultural Freedom of Africa. Also. the sup(X)rt of Russia meant virtually the
The Proth Committee of Enqui1) support of the communist part of the world. China. which
Sprinas of Fascism1
The Centre for Civic Education could have tipped the scales, did not have the time, the
resources. the adequate knowledge, to be involved in
RELIGION 12 Nigeria's post-colcoial politics. As for the search for a
..... ' Jehovah's Witnesses and the solution within Africa. the Organization of African Unity
Millennium merely demonstrated how essentially helpless and indIec·
Max Assimeng tual it ii as a body which many Africans preferred to
LEITERS consult first in crises of this nature. "
National Committee on Apartheid Although the world rejoices with the Nigerians in the
Why the MiSSion Schools? fact that hostilities on such a mass scale have ceased, and
Leeon New Year Schools that hair-splitting on the meaning and motivation of buman·
The End of a War itarian gestures has virtually come to an end. it is true
The ca~ of the Aliens
Why this Soccer Fanaticism? to say that Major·Genera] Yakubu Gowon. the leader of
Tro-tro Pares , the victorious team. would be tbe last to presume tItat all
problems are over. For. underneath the various accusations
mS('EUANEOU •• " and counter·accusations as to the rights and wrongs of My Ne-w Year Resolutions
v the war. there were obviously deep.rooted causes of tension. Kontopiaat
There is no doubt that the Ibos had genuine fears _
18 although exaggerated for sentimental and propaganda
2 TIIE LEGON OBSERVER 16 January 1970
reasons - as to how they fitted in a united on the right or the wrong philosophies of
Nigeria. The mutual tribal suspicion <lnd anta- development.
gonism had reached such a level that st;:;.tesman- One immediate educational task for the govern-
ship of a different type - not used to mere lip- ment to perform is the examination of condi-
service assurances - was needed to weld that tions in the universities of Ghana. For the
country together. moment those at Legan and Kumasi need not
This is not the appropriate time to concen- be treated as emergency cases: there are (1) a
trate on the antecedents of the Nigeria-Biafea general report on all tbree rastitutions awaited
War; nor is it opportune yet for one to analyse from the Vick Grants Committee investigations.
the costs - human and financial - of this and (2) the Ollennu report on Legon'. late
bitter episode. What is essential is an acknow- financial administration, to be made ptlblic and
ledgment by the entire population of Nigeria. be implemented where necessary. The case of
especially those in positions of authority and of Cape Coast, however, is different: it is urgent.
influence, of tbe enormity of the political and immediate; tbe government ought to speed up
economic problems that face them. its efforts to help find a solution to the deep
To win a war is obviously much simpler than trouble between the science students and the
to win a peace. And while world leaders urge College's administration. Students cannot be
Gowan and his aides to show magnanimity in allowed. or themselves exPect. to take the law
this hour of military victory, they equally caution into their own hands and get away with it; but
the necessity of winning the hearts and minds it has to be established. on the 'lther hand
of those Ibos who, for various reasons, had that the University College authorities at Cape
seriously wanted to remain politically separate. Coast are not only in their rights but also apply~
ing the rules of justice and human consideration
in their dealings with the students.
TASKS FOR BUSIA GOVERNMENT Other tasks facing the Busia government are
in the fields of a wages policy - still! - which
IN OUR LAST issue we featured some invited would begin to lDarrow the gap in salary-wages
atIld contributed views on the first performances levels; manpower problems. the cost of adminis·
of the Busia party and government. These viLW's tration as against production, the relation of
were on internal and external policy (emphasis \'lark-load to pay throughout the economy:
on foreign relations). and on the performance of revolutionary agriculture; and more that can be
the Progress Party both at the polls and since classified and described but are also largely
then. in and out of parliament. Today we add obvious and known. The fundamental point is one
a review of our economic position which says of awareness and of firm resolution on the part
nothing new - since there's nothing new to of government.
say - but pinpoints again all the essential
features of the situation: weak: and strong. bright
and dull. prospective and hopeless points.
There are other problems of or facing the
government which Busia is still to tackle, even ADVERTISE
by way of planning for them. One such is educa~
tion. The Progress Party naturally has had a lot
to say in manifestorial and campaign promises,
on the expected lines of improvement in facili-
ties and opportunities for all. This i!: fine as
far as it goes. But idealistic promises in fact IN THE
travel only that far. no farther. What the gov-
ernment has to do immediately is to find ways and
means of dealing with such problems as the
quality of teachers and teaching. with commen- LEGON
surate reconsideration of wages and conditions-
of-service policy; the text-book unavailability
and maldistribution horror; rural-urban in-
equalities; the media-of. . instruction problems; OBSERVER
and. most of all. the whole question whether
we are spending our vast education allocations
16 January 1970 THE LEGON OBSERVER 3
to rapid improvement in rural standards of living.
The Economy How, far has the government initiated policies to
achieve its objectives during its first year in office.
GHANA'S ECONOMIC PROBLEMS AND to achieve a radical breakthrough in the .rural
THE NEW REGIME areas. and to find jobs for the unemployed?
By In pursuance of its objectives. as outlined in the
Sessional Address. the government has adopted j
Kwabena Acbampon.Manu
three far- reaching measures. First, within the con-
IN Till first Sessional Address to the IJre5(1Ilt Par-
straints imposed by our massive exter!lal debts,
liament. delivered by the Chairman of the Pre-
any policy involving capital expenditure is doomed
sidential Commission. the new Progress Party
. to failure unless the debt servjciog burden can be
government promised to direct the allocation of
-.; contained. This the Prime Minister has attempted
Ghana's economic and financial resources towards
to do by his recent lOur to our creditors abroad.
three areas of the highest priority. These are:
That we need a breathi1ng spell to develop the
(1) rural development and. in particular. the economy is obvious. but that we should accept
expansion of agricultural production; all ou r external debts without question is some-'
(2) the launching o( a systematic attack on the thing that some of us are not so enthusiastic
problem of unemployment, and about. This position has been made clear on
several occasions in the pages of the Observer;
(3) the rduction of the imbalanc~s :ha! h<.!.vc
the present author thinks that some of the con·
hitherto existed in the levels of development
tractors' credits need scrutiny and review. It i~
of the different internal regil»ls of the coun-
common knowledge that Ghana was swindled'
try.
Laudable as these policies are, it is quite In some of these credits, and the sensible thing obvious
to do is to review every loan irrespective of its
that there arc two factors that are going to deter-
geographical origin.
mine the success or failure of tbe government's'
objectives in its first year of office, and. hence. the
Rescheduling of Debts
course of its economic performance, regardless
of stated intentions: (1) the balance of payments
Be that as it may, the government. by a com-
problem. and (2) the huge external debts. Any
bination of international prestige and a weak
successfu l policy to rehabilitate the economy
bargaining position, has virtually agreed to honour
from stagnation will have to contain these two
all the debts and has asked for a further reschedu-
crucial problems. These objectives are in fact
l. ling in 1 une this year . It is quite clear that the
similar to those contained in the Progress Party
government's policies hjnge on the question of
manifesto on rehabilitating the economy, and also
rescheduling. that the country is not in a position
follow closely the last budget of the N.L.C. Reali-
now to discharge her debt service obligations si-
sing that time is not an ally if it wants to capitalize
on its popular support. the govcrnmept has set multaneously with economic expansion, and that
in motion policies and measures that wiU lend the successful implementation of the measure con-
support to its policies. tained in the Sessional Address depends to h large
extent on further rescheduling of our debts. To
~ Must Find Quick Answers the eilltent that a further rescheduling is agreed
upon. it will greatly help the government to under-
The framework within which the government
take the measures envisaged m its first year of
has to manoeuvre is not an enviable one. First, the
administration.
government inherited an economy characterized
by stagnation. huge external debts. high cost of The second major economic policy the new
living and massive unemployment. Secondly. the government has adopted has been the " expulsion"
overwhelming support given the Progress Pa~ty of aliens from the country. This policy has many
has imposed a sense of obligation to the govern- economic consequences. both in the short-run and
ment to find quick answers to our economic diffi- ; n the long-run. This policy has been suggested
culties. It is imperative, therefore, that if popular in certain circles as a means to reduce tbe un-
support for the government is not to wane. it must employment problem: others see it as a way out
produce a "miracle" in the shorte:st possible time of checking smuggling in the country. Under
to salvage the economy. The objectives outlined normal conditiC1nS such a policy, to many people,
in the Sessional Address clearly indicate the com- would have been unpardonable especially in terms
mitment of the party and the government elite of the .ideals and goals enshrined in the Charter of
4 THE LEGON OBSERVeR 16 jamllry 1910
the O.A.V. But these are by no means normal to set up an effective pJanQing machinery, at both
conditions for Ghana; the new government (inds the national and regional levels. in order, amoog
itself in an economic straight-jacket. with massive other things, to identify priorities in the DeedS
unemployment, limited foreign currency, and do- of the people at the regional and local levels; thus
mination of the retail trade by aliens. If the expul- it would involve the greatest number of people in
sion of the aliens was intended to partly solve the planning process and ensure mass support for.
1 the unemployment problem, then Ghanaians would and mass commitment to. government economic
be well advised to take on the jobs left by the programmes. We hope that efforts are being made
aliens. The government on its part must assist to establish this planning machinery.
those Ghanaians who express the willingness to
[n the field of economics there has not been any
enter those sectors (especially in the retail trade)
where aliens predominated. Unless this is done "success story" so far; the greatest achievement
quickly the mass departure will have disastrous of the government is that it has recognized the
economic consequences on the country. The go- problem, and this recognition is so essential in
economic deVelopment.
vernment has' provided the leadership, it is up to
Ghanaians to accept the challenge.
The third major economic measure adopted by
the new government is the inauguration of the
National Service Corps, which is essentially a self· Politics
help scheme. This policy is seen as intended to
mobilize the masses for radical social change. To ERSKINE MAY IN BUSIA'S PARLIAMENT
be effective and meaningful, the N.S.C. must not
become another Workers Brigade; it must not by
be used as a short~term pOlitical gesture to win Cameron Duodu
support, and it mu.:; t not conflict with the prevail- THE Parliaments of British territories that attain
ing pressing need for rapid agricultural develop- independence are usually presented each with a
ment in Ghana. If properly run. the N.S.C. should gift. It may be a Mace (to be carried into the
create jobs for the unemployed, help develop House by a Sergeant-At-Arrns decked out in
the rural areas, and possibly offer training fad· native bangles or anklets, no doubt to reassure
lilies to the unskilled. the M.P.s that their own history is flot without
objects of awe that can make even Black Rod
Long-term Plans Needed twitter his moustache in envy). Or it may be a
door panel, to Jose itself in a maze of sculptured
These are the three main areas of economic signs, all aimed at showing that where there has
policy initiated by the Dew government, and al- been wood there has been art and that there
though it is too early yet to say categorically shall always be a thought that should please
whether these measures, taken together, will help nexologists.
the government achieve its aims, yet the mere
One gift from the Mother of Parliaments to
recognition of a problem is a first step in designing
Baby Parliaments. which manages to CSC:lpe the
policies to surmount it.
attention of the cameramen, is Erskine May's
The prime pre-requisite in nation building is a Parliamentary Procedure, Although the baby par-
national leadership able and willing to provide liaments do write their own standing orders. Ers-
a strong thrust to national effort. Fortunately, the kine May's phrases continual1y turn up in them, so
Progress Party government has sufficient talent to that before the opposition is democralic:llly voted
offer us this leadership., We are not out of the out of existence on a private member's motion
woods yet. The problems and difficulties facing (to show that the government had no hand in
this country cannot be effectively solved. by ad hoc the disgusting affair), opposition members can
policies; what we need as a matter of urgency rctord their horror, as in the following:
is a long.term perspective plan. And since the Mr. Speaker. the Honourable Member for
present government has adopted the proposals of Coffee Constituency is using un-parliamen-
the N.L.C's last budget, which recognized the im- tary language. He described the Honourable
portance of the agricultural sector, concrete po· Leader of lhe Opposition as the yelping
tides should be adopted to stimulate the agricul- jackal of the forces of disorder 3.nd anarchy.
tural industry. I think he should withdraw. (UPROAR)
The Progress Party in its manifesto promised Ghana's new parliament - touch wood - has
16 January 1970 THE LEGON OBSERVER 5
not yet reached the sharp.fanged stage. though The government. in the Sessional Address.
tl}e upcoming debates on South Africa, aliens says beautiful things about democracy Dur-
;I nd the National Service Corps witi demand i'i1g the election campaign, our ~
great patience omd a lot of good humour from leader went to talk at W~hi and he was
a ll concerned. almost beaten up ....
P..eading through Hansard. one is struck by MR. J . K. AMANKWAH : The bon. mem-
til:! amount of good humour al ready exhibited . be is just throwing dust into our eyes. I was
All of it emerges through the "Point of Order", there and nothing of the sort happened.
and sometimes the Speaker appears to be hard MR. NYLANDER: The hon. member is
put to it to reconcile what a member thinks misinforming the house. If, as he said, my
l:onstitutes a point of order with Erskine May's information is not correct. why was it neces-
definition of it: sary for the police to use tear gas?
MR. AMANKWAH: I was there. The
MR. QUAIDOO: Mr. Speaker, I wi ll brief- leader was saying something and there was
ly speak on the other points of the Sessional confusion and the police used tear gas. Tt
Address. In Paragraphs 16. 6, 17 - was not because the leader was bealen up.
MR. B. K. MENSAH: On a point of order. MR. SPEAKER: This is not:} point of
The han. member has spoken on Paragraph order.
2 and he is yet to speak on the other Para- MR. NYLANDER: I thank you very much.
graphs. I would like to correct some erro- Mr. Speaker. Most members opposite are
neous statements he has made to the H ouse. new to this sort of thing and Lhey are now
He spoke in the same breath on the produc- learn :.ng their lessons. We have already been
tion of food. that is. agriculture, and all reminded lhat the wheel goes round. Soon
industry. alfld referred to industry as the only we will get there and teach them ...
salvation for unemployment. I do not see MR. J . H . MENSAH: It would help the
how he can reconcile the two. We of the debate jf the han. member addressed the
Progress Party are faced with a problem and chair.
that problem is that of development ....
MR. SPEAKER: If hon. members would
MR. SPEAKER: Will the hon. member stop interrupting unnecessarily, they would
make the point of order? Or docs he want make it possi ble (or the member to address
to put the position as his party sees it? chair.
MR. MENSAH: As I see it. Occasionally. a direct reference is made to the
MR. SPEAKER: Very well. He will have Mother of Parliaments itself:
the opportunity during the debate (0 advance MR. 1. H. MENSAH: Mr. Speaker, let me
his own views. There[ore it IS not a point say a few words about national unity.
of order. because I've bee-IT! specially requested by the
This is a more or less direct correcllon from Independent /N.A.L. Member for Osu Klottey.
Mr. Speaker to a member Sometimes. Mr. MR. SPEAKER: A member C3nnot be
Speaker uses a more subtle approach: Independent and at the same time N.A.L.
MR. NYLANDER: As I have sa id. il IS member for ....
not enough that we have trained technicians. MR. 1. H. MENSAH: Thank you. Mr.
(A MEMBER: How many did you train Speaker. for this clarification. I'm myself
ten years ago?) It does not matter how many very much mystified.
I trained ten years ago. It is what the govern-
ment is going to do that matters. MR. BRODIE-MENDS: In the British
House of Commons, there are times when
MR. SPEAKER: To enable m~mber5 wbo they have certain members known as the
have the floor to be heard. whoever is allow- rndependent Labour Group (Laughter).
ed to speak should address the chair instead
of han. members addressing themselves. MR. SPEAKER: No such group bas been
declared bere.
MR. NYLANDER: Thank you, Mr Speak- Mr. 1. H . Mensah appears to be cutting quite
er. The Attorney-General says he agrees a figure in the House as a sharp-witted debater.
with what I've been saying. It's very good He describes NAL's lack of realism in its critic-
of him. This is what we want them to do. . ism of the Sessional Address as stemming from
6 THE LEGON OBSERVER 16 Jan,*>, 1970
•
the same source as the "computerised guesses" who may be able to offer good advice in this
they made about the general election and which regard is Mr. Kofi Baako. who was a great
led them to be so shocked at the P.P"~ over· interrupter in his day. We may not agtee with
,h'hclming victory. But he has his match. in the all that parliament does, but there is no reason
person of Mr. Alex Hutton-Mills: why they should bore us stiff doing it.
MR. HUTTON-MILLS: The Minister is
referring to the budget. but as far as I'm lNGREDIENTS OF AN AFRlCAN IDEO.
aware, this particular parliament has 'flot LOGY - THE TEXTURE OF UNITY
even considered a budget. let alone pass one.
(UPROAR). by
MR. J. H. MENSAH : Tills is one of the typi- Oburoni Muntu
cally regular speeches of irrelevance delivered As tbe fufilment and security we used to find
by the han. member. In my part of the country, in kin or the local community steadily dwindle
the han. member's party is being called ABA in the modem world. we look for bonds which
BASAA. that is. the party that's moving in can replace them in the wider and more varied
a disorderly manner. arena in which we move. Confronted 10 great
MR HUTTON-MILLS: On a po;", of cities with masses of hurrying 3trangers with no
order. Now. when yOll mention ~be name concern for us beyond what is given by the needs
of the Minister's party, tbe aliens who are of the moment, we search for .some people we
quitting say. "SURE". (UPROAR). can call our fellows. Our oneed is to find men like
MR. MENSAH: I believe m every court ourselves. who speak the same language or at
certain persons are allowed to raise some least see life the same way. Kinsfolk and feUow~
irrelevancies ... . villagers will help, if they are near at hand. but
There was a classic 'point of order' in the they are usually too few in number to provide all
following exchange: hardly a situation that the solidarity we need.
Erski1e May could ever have anticipated, even
if he had become a African Tribalism Lotus~Eater:
MR. F. A. AMELEMAH: Mo't govern- In struggles for jobs or political iavours esp:~
ment backbenchers come from ihe ruraJ cially, we need to work with. and fight alongside.
areas like myself. and they can testify to substantial numbers of our own Kipd. Relatives
what I'm saying .. . . and neighbours. the clan, even the tribe (in the
MR. A. BADU-NKANSAH: Mr. Speaker. old and strict sense) cannot provide us with what
according to our traditions the Sepaker is we need: we find ourselves, even wmetimes per-
like a chief. and rm wondering whether the haps in spite of ourselves. looking to the whole
hon. member is observing traditional rules. set of people from the region of our origin.
If he has chosen to go the traditional way speaking the tongue we understand most readily.
(by wearing cloth) he has to put on his for support and comradeship. It IS through this
cloth in the traditional manner . This is that what in most African states is called "triba~
not the normal way to stand before a chief lism". or what in Europe a ..::entury ago was
and speak. called "nationalism:- is born.
MR. SPEAKER: We presume that if the The politicaJ elites who derive material and
hon. member stands before a chief. he spiritual sustenance - both a livelihood and a
should wear his cloth in the traditional ways, "reason for being" - from our states look on
but the han. member would agree that this the growth of these ethnic identities in one of
is an air-ccmditioned room and doctors may two ways. For some it provides ,"'pportunitit:s
advise against that for riding to power: the cry of "domination" or
If they continue in that vein in the next session. "discrimination" may give one readJ~made allies
we shall be in for a good time. I understand that and supporters. who can be effe<::~ively used in
Sir Winston Churchill used to rehearse his "im~ the struggle for the delectable plums of offic~.
promptu" interruptions in the Commons quite Others see this "tribalism" as first clOd foremo~t
thoroughly beforehand. occasionally ask.ing a a threat. a grave danger to the unity. indeed to
friendly member to do some prodding by way the very existence. of the state. Thl': war in what
of interrupting his own interruption. The idea used to be called Eastern Nigeria. and the grow-
should recommend itself to Mr. J. H. Moosah and ing tension between the Kikuyu and the Luo in
Mr. Alex Hutton-Mills, in particular. One man Kenya. point to the dread lesson only too clearly
16 January 1970 THE LEGON OBSERVER 7
CENTRE FOR CIVIC EDUCATION
Applications are invited from suitably qualified Ghanaians for the following posts
in the Cenrte for Civic Education:-
A. DEPUTY GENERAL ADMINISTRATOR:
QUAliFICATIONS:
Candidates must possess:
(a) A good degree from a recognized University plus (7) seven years' post-graduate
experience in Public Administration in a reputable recognized Institution,
OR
(b) Must have a sound general educational background and at least ten (10) years of
administrative experience.
DUTIES: To assist the General Administrator in the running of the Centre.
AGE: 35 to 45 years.
SALARY: NC4,300 (Consolidated-Under review)
Anyone earning less than NC3,500 need not apply.
B. ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT:
QUAliFICATIONS:
(a) Must possess the minimum educational qualification of the General Certificate of
Education (Ordinary Level) with at least passes in five subjects including English
Language, or an equivalent qualification. or
(b) the final Certificate of the Chartered Institute of Secretaries or Final Certificate of
the Corporation of Secretaries or Inter A.CC.A., or A.CA., or I.CW.A. Part III.
and
(c) must be confirmed officers with not less than 5 years continuous and satisfactory
service as Senior Clerk or Stenographer jSecretary in a Government or recogni.
sed non-government organisation;
OR
(d) Must have had seven (7) years expflrience in Secretarial and executive duties in
a government or public institution or a large private establishment.
DUTIES: Will be in charge of General office services and perform general secretarial
dnd executive duties including preparation of Estimates, Budgetary Control, suo
pervision of officers below his grade.
AGE: 25 to 40 years.
SALARY: Range 55. 60 - NC2.208-NC2.580; NC2.676-NC3.108 per annum.
Entry at appropriate point.
C. PRJVATE SECRETARY:
QUALIFICATIONS:
(a) Must possess the minimum educational qualification of "0" Level including a pass
in the English paper of the G.C.E. or its equivalent. i.e. Qualifying Examination
in English.
(b) be able to type at the rate of 60 words per minute for 10 minutes and take Short.
hand at the rate of 120 words per minute for 5 minutes, and possess a Certifi.
cate to that effect issued by the Principal of Government Secretarial Schools.
(c) possess a good working knowledge of office management and routine, a high sense
or responsibility, initiative and integrity, and must have had at least three (3)
years' experience as a Stenographer j Secretary.
AGE: 28 to 35 years.
SALARY: Ranges 48 & 52: 58-NCI.668-NC2.292; NC2,484-NC2.892 per annum
(Entry at the appropriate point)
METHOD OF APPLICATION: Applications should be addressed in triplicate to the General
Administrator. Centre for Civic Education, P.O. Box M.103, Accra, to reach him by the end of
January, 1970. Copies (not originals) of certificates and testimonials should be attached to tbe appli.
cations. Copies of documents will not be returned.
Civil Servants, employees of Statutory Boards and Corporations, or Government sponsored insti.
tutions must forward their applications through their Heads of Departments.
Persons under bond are ineligible.
NOTE: Persons who have aJready applied in response to earlier advertisements for these posts
need not apply again.
8 THE LEGON OBSERVER 16 January 1970
Warnings. homilies, exhortations are thus beard cross-cutting allegiance. What this .means, to put
on all sides. even often from those whose acti- it quite simply. is that if many people find that
vities are exacerbating the situation they profess they have neighbours, co--re1igionists. fanner
to condemn. about tbe dangers of this "narrow" schoolfellows. kinsmen, or any other kind of re.
and "selfish" ethnic loyalty. lated or "similar" people to themselves. in other
Yet what remedies are ever suggested? Nothing. ethnic groups than their own. then ethnic alle-
it seems, but the endlessly reiterated "caU" or giances will be weaker and Jess exclusive than
"appeal" to those concerned to stop bebaving where such conditions are nat found.
as they are bebaving and to behave in a different These four forces work best of all in combi-
way. The African faith in the power of exhorta- nation: the position of the charismatic leader JS
tion seems sometimes quite inexhaustible; yet strengthened if he is a leader in battle. or if
nothing is plainer. if we will but look the facts he is also an ideological leader, and even more
in the face. than that exhortation in these cir- so if he is both - as were Mohammed and Lenin.
cumstances is almost always entirely useless. If Conversely. the return of peace. the disappearance
conditions foster «tribal" feeling. then that feel- of the charismatic leader by death or dismissal.
ing will grow; if they do not it will not. Exholt- or the decline of ideological fervour. will cause
ation can never do more than remind men of the old ethnic antagonisms to revive - as is happen-
duties and loyalties which. even if only in their ing now in Yugoslavia and Ghana - unless in
beart of hearts, they already acknowledge; it is the meantime widespread cross-.::utting allegiances
quite incapable of inducing such sentiments to have grown up or have been established. This 15
grow if they are not there in tbe first place. at least part of the reason why a charismatic
leader will commonly try to whip up feeting
Ethnic Feelings against an external enemy, real or imagined. and!
or try to found ideology or an idQ)logical cult.
Nothing in the history of Africa in this last Gamel Nasser and Sekou Toure are each trying
stormy decade. or in the history of any other hard to do both of these things to bolster their
part of the world then or before. suggests that authority.
mere loyalty to the state as sucb t.:an be deve-
loped as an effective cOU!llter-pull to the strength Ghana's Example
of ethnic feeling. Even if it could. it would not
answer our problems; for virtually all our states In Ghana we have been bitten too deep by one
are so small in territory and population that. mad dog of a Messiah to have much faith in
the day after we had succeeded at last in ma- supposedly great leaders now; elsewhere in our
king tbe overwhelming majority of the citizei1s continent the Nyereres, the Kaundas. even the
of anyone of them feel they were all the same Senghors and the Houphouet-Boignys. have ma-
kind of people. we would have to set about naged to use their pre-eminence to considerable
breaking down this feeling of unity as a threat effect without letting it run to their heads or going
to the wider unities we must build if Africa is on crazy spending sprees and bankrupting their
to survive and grow in wealth and power. countries. Even so, reliance on a leader alone to
build the foundatioos of unity is very risky: when
History and logical analysis alike indicate that
he dies or retires from power. or is forced out of
there are only four forces which can substantial-
it. the disunity returns much as it was before.
ly weaken what we like to call "tribalism." The
and the whole process has to begin again.
first is the experience, widely known and deeply
felt, of a sustained fight against a common ene- It might be useful from the point of view of
my. The second is devotion to dO outstanding unity, however costly. if we were engaged in a
personality in a position of lead~rship - what prolonged war against some tenacious enemy -
the sociologists call "charismatic" leadership but enemies are not to be had for the asking.
The third is the power of a set of "eliefs which The power of belief is (as I have been arguing all
give one a sense of significance and motivate one along) of vital importance, not only for unity
to join forces with all others moved by these but for providing and sustaining a sense of di-
beliefs to seek the goals which they enjoin; this rection and purpose. But a convincing ideology
is essentially the power of ideology on which I cannot come suddonly from nowhere: it must be
bave repeatedly insisted in these articles. worked out in detail and promulgated by a de.
The fourth force. much less obvious than the dieated body of people who form tbe core of tbe
other three. but none the less real. is that of movement which must arise. Meanwhile. there is
16 January 1970 THE LEGaN OBSERVER 9
DO reason why we should not see what we cao country but across the whole continent; however.
do with cross-cutting allegiances. there is no space to write now.
About religious allegiance: there is not much All that can be said at this stage is that such
we can do, except perhaps by enabling or encou- policies would not entail the abandonment of
raging religious bodies to proselytise vigorously ethnic loyalty, and certainly not the continuation
outside the ethnic areas in which th~y have been of conventional exhortations to "think of them-
predominant. The bond which people form in selves" as Ghanaians, Nigerians, Tanzanians, etc ..
childhood by attending the same school, or in but rather the deliberate development of loyaltie."
adulthood by working together in tbe same sort and allegiances of all kinds which would con-
of job, can be fostered more easily_ Both within tribute to and enrich our common African sociel.y
Q UI countries and, even more perhaps, between without coinciding with ethnic lOyalty and thus
them. we should be actively attemptjng to mix deepening the rifts which are bound to arise
people together at school and to ensure that no from this.
occupation becomes the exclusive preserve of any 11)1 short, my point may be summarised as
one ethnic group. But beyond this we can pay another significant ingredient of an African ideo-
close and serious attention to the pGssibilities of logy:
creating the strongest and most enduring inter- The way to African unity is not to weld but
ethnic ties of alI - those of kinship. to weave our peoples together_
African Ideology is Vital
In a number of traditional African societies Observer Notebook
unity is maintained, and even a high degree of
order is preserved. in the absence of any govero.-
ment, in just this way - by custom having esta- U Thant of the U.N.
blished the practice of marrying outside one's THE Secretary-General of the United Nations,
own group. Hence in time of conflict many of First Citizen of the World and also the world's
those O!Tl. each side will be worried ~bout the pos- Number One civil servant, has been luoking in
sibility that their kinsfolk on the other side will on Ghana recently as part of his first visit to West
get hurt, and they will therefore do tileir best Africa. It was good to see and feel tbis distin-
to end the fighting and bring about reconcilia- guished Burmese in these parts and in the flesh
tion. We are accustomed to thinking of marriage at last, in his ninth year as prime administrator
as a personal or family affair, or at best, as an of the worJd body. It may r,1ot be possible for
alternative; we sometimes exhort people in a him to come again before finally retiring from
vague sort of way to intermarry; but have we his exalted and awful position.
ever looked systematically into the conditions
The three men who have so far occupied the
that foster intermarriage, the circumstances under
Secretary-GcneraI's chair at the United Nations
which young people of the right age, from diffe-
have all been remarkable in their different ways.
rent regions and language-groups. are brought
They were bound to be so to be chosen for this
mto contact. for example. or the nature of the
extraordinary post. Trygve Lie. a 1'!orwegian
forces which encourage them to. N discourage
and the first of them, was a solid, ~tolid man,
them from, looking on one another as possible
able but unspectacular. wbo by hard work and
marriage-partners?
perseverance managed to keep the organisation
My case in these articles is that we need our together through its first seven years ot complex
own African ideology. to enable us to make post-2nd World War rehabilitation. Dag Ham-
sense of and to cope purposefully with our own merskjold. the Swede who occupied the chair
African circumstaaces. and that we can develop vacated by Lie until his tragic and mysterious
it only by thinking for ourselves abotlt the nature air-crash death in the Congo in 1961, was the
of these circumstances and everything they entail most interesting of the three. A bachelor, a loner
most fundamentally. It is useless tv rely on the and a mystic. he made more evidence of his
boreal world for inspiration. whether for words character available after his death than during
or for ideas. Such an ideology of our own should his life. but without really doing much to clear
be concerned both with p:eneraI principles and up the mysteries of his complex, introvert person-
with the policies which follow from Ihem. About ality. His posthumous poems and essays only
the measures which ought to be taken to develop showed more of the secretness of his mind. though
cross-cutting allegiances not merely within our simultaneously confirming its hjgh quality.
10 THE LEGON OBSERVER
Resolution awaits a fullscale study of his life those western countries at pCCSi ilt in the atip
lind a psychoanalysis of his writings. of totalitarian. anti-liberal regimes. like Spain.
Then came, and stiU remains. U Thant. the Portugal and. now, G~.
best known candidate to -succeed 10 the chair The Associatioo numbers amoog its own
so far. U Thant was his country's chief represen- membership some of the west's leading intellec-
tative at the U.N. long before being elected to tuals. writers and academics. The chairman of
the Secretaryship; a busy and earnest executive its Board of Directors is the Vice-Chancellor of
respected and liked by most of the national Oxford University. Dr. Alan Bullock_ and the
delegatioos congested in the famous structures Director of tbe Association is a French UJrnmor.
on the East River and 42nd Street, New York tal", Pierre Emmanuel. poet·member of the
City_ U Thanl. as we aU know. is in his second sacrosanct Academie Francaise. The Italian
term of office, ~fter the most extraordinary cam- novelist. Ignazio Silone; the towering (in more
paign of personal persuassioD in the history of than one sense) John Kenneth Galbraith. and the
international relations. He is a strong, forthright American sociologist of Chicago and Cambridge,
MId re1iable character, tbe only subject ever to Edward Shils, are also members of the Board.
have brought complete unanimity and mutuality as are Manes Sperber, French writer; Paris
between East and West. with neutrals and satel- Professor Francois Bourricaud; Mexican socioto·
lites alike eYen more readily committed to gist Daniel Cosio Villegas, Vice.Chanceilor Alex
support of the moYe to have the Secretary for Kwapong of Legon (host to the Ghana meeting),
a second tum. Vice-Rektor Waldemar Besson of Konstanz
But not all U Than!'s gifts and his incandes- University. Professor Pedro Lain Entralgo of
cent sincerity and goodwill can make the job Madrid. M. P. Minoo Masani of India (Chair-
of Secretary.General of the United Nations less man of the 35-man General Assembly of the
onerous or thankless, or the organisation itself Association). and Professor Luis Cintra of
more successful than it now modestly is or can Lisbon.
ever hope to be - on the evidence of perform-
ance and trends so far. U Thant's tour of and The President of the whole Association is
oYerdue acquaintance with West Africa - now Shepard Stone, internationally known former
accomplished - was certainly useful to himself Vice President of the Ford Foundation. who left
and the people of the ten countries he rushed the Ford to head the lAC.F. The General
through; his meeting with so many more African Assembly of the Association also carries some
leaders than he ever saw in New York - and distinguished names: Daniel Bell of Harvard;
meeting them i!l1 their own homes till.; time _ Louis Fischer, authority 00 Russia; "Zeke"
could not have been but mutually beneficial .... MphaWele. South African writer and freedom
But no one is going to be foolish ~nough to fighter; Michael Polanyi, physicist. philosopher
expect any positive, major gains from this "brief and sociologist; Swiss writer and politician Denis
encounter". We can only believe that it has de Rougemont, and Swiss parliamentarian Hans
contributed some additional strength and inspira. Oprecht.
tion to the fighting spirit of U Thant, the great The I.A.C.F. has affiliate bodies in Australia.
world servant of peace. India, Japan. West Germany. the Philippines.
Thailand. Morocco and the United States, as
Missioners of CWtural Freedom well as three branches in different parts of
IN THE SAME week that Ghana was pbying host France itself. It publishes or co-sponsors no
to U Thant. other distinguished international fewer than 18 magazines, including the exciting
figures were also visiting us. The University of but now suspended Transition, as well as (for·
Ghana at Legan was the venue and 'icene of the merly) one of the world's leading English-
first meeting ever to be held iat Africa of one language journals today, Encounter. (One likely
of the two controlling policy bodies of the Inter· result of the Ghana meeting of the Board is the
national Association for Cultural Freedom, for- imminent re·establishment of Transition, with
mer1y known as the Congress for Cultural Free- Accra as its new home amd Rajat Neogy, its
dom. The Association, founded in 1950 as the dynamic young editor and a political vietim at
Congress. and based in Paris, is an organisation
President Obote of Uganda. back in his editorial
of international membership deditated to the
promotion. protection and defence of intel1ectual chair.) The Association's programme of work in
and cultural freedom in the Westem world. in Africa for the coming few years will he examin·
Africa. Asia and Latin America, particularly in ed in a future issue of tbe Ob'2nea.
16 January 1970 THE LEGON OBSERVER
11
The Prah Committee 01 Enquiry some people or some factors are solely or severally
responsible; when people come to stress so much
WE would like to congratulate the Busia Govern- the facts of economic, moral or ethnic purism;
ment on their instituting a Committee to go into when the assumption is made that one particular
Motor Car Agency agreements and maintenance factor holds the ultimate answer to all the ills of
charges. Readers of this column may remember society. and that its removal has incalculable
that we once called on the N.L.C. regime to ins- blessing; when volatile. already frustrated and par-
titute such am enquiry (L.O., m/20) hut nothing tia1Iy educated segments of a popUlation are given
was done about it. It is common knowledge that simplistic, witch~hunting, fundamentalist sermons
one of the reasons for the incredibly high cost of about the keys to the total reorganization of so-
living in the towns in particular is the high cost ciety; when the "crusades" take some of these
of motor vehicles, and above all steep maintenance forms, one is sowing the seeds of intolerance.
charges, a11 of which are passed on to the poor authoritarianism. and know-nothingness. especial-
passenger oc the poor consumer of foodstuffs. ly when the foundations of democratic ideals have
We also have reasons to suspect that the high been barely laid. One should consider. in particu-
premiums charged by Insurance Corporations are lar. the present Ghanaian atmosphere where twen-
due primarily to the high cost of repaiting cars ty~five percent of a working population is unem-
involved in accidents. It is known that in such ployed.
cases, either to please their customers or certain·
ly to please themselves. the workshops deliberately It was alleged recently that documents were in
inflate the estimates by, for instance, insisting on circulation in this country. in the name of one of
replacing damaged parts which can easily be re· these "crusades," threatening certain aliens in
paired. We are told further that some workshops Ghana to quit the country by the middle of Ja-
charge as much as NC250 per hour as workman· nuary this year. or face the consequences. The
ship while they pay their mechanks only about matter is said to be in the hands of the police. and
a cedi to two cedis a day. And it is common the result of their investigations is keenly awaited.
practice that the workshops often refuse to sell Students of the history of ultra~right~wing social
spare parts to car·owners with a view to compeI~ movements - McCarthyism. Goldwaterism, Hit~
Ling them to send their cars into the workshops. ledsm - become worried, therefore, when certain
There is quite clearly a great deal that is palpably apparently enlightened leaders of thought become
wrong here and we are exceedingly happy that mentors and champions of "crusades" of dubious
the Busia Government has instituted this long value in society.
overdue enquiry. We would only like to appeal
to the public to give the committee every assistance
and feed it with information. The Centre for Civic Education
THIS establishment. set up in the year of the
Sprin~ of Facism? coup to carry out a part of the unwinding of
the Nkrumah machine. has already hart a vivid
THE proliferation. in Ghana recently, of "crusa· history and a sometime controversial existernce.
des" of various kinds, must be viewed with con~ When it was first established under the heavy-
sid crable alarm. All sorts of aims are said to weight Trusteeship patronage of members of the
underlie many of these "crusades" - from the late N.L.C. and, soon enough. the chainnanship
desire to convert Ghana for Christ to an attempt of Dr. Busia, many thought it was the best
to protect indigenous enterprises. thing that could possibly happen to the country
then: a high·powered organisation that was
Ideally there is nothing intrinsically wrong with going to de·Nkrumanise the people in a crash
the desire of a people to try to cherish, protect, or
programme of psychological rehabilitation.
revive some deeply valued items in a social struc~
ture. Indeed, a society stands to gain immensely ?nce the machine got working. however, otber
when some people in that society take it upon VOICes began to be raised, both about the method
themselves to stress significant values in the com~ of operation of the Centre. its intended life--
munity. especiaUy at a time when there is un~ spa~: its pro?~ble fate under future changed
clarity m the society's value system. political conditions and interests. its financing.
etc., ~nd. much more significantly stiU, about
But when tbis attachment takes the form of an
the kmd of facilities it offered its chairman
exaggerated and fanatical crusading expression to
Dr. Busia. of keeping himself constaTlt1y befor~
the effect thai the society is crumbling, and that
the public in a leadership role. when others had
12 1HE LEGON OBSERVER
no means of that kind whatsoever and dared
Dot create any. Dr. Busia was able t:> weather Religion
that storm, but it also became obvious that only
if he won tbe future elections. for which the JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES AND 1HE
Centre was directly and indirectly preparing the MU.I.ENNIUM
people. could the Centre be assured of continuity
in its existing fonn, or anything like it. (Of By
course Dr. Busia did Max Assiroeng win.)
ON THE world's present scene of multiple ideolo-
When tbe ban on politics was lifted in May gies and crumbling faiths, it is revealing to come
1969 a hurricane of cbange blew right through across a small but active group of religious enthu. .
the organisation, The Board of Trustees was siasts who have become preoccupied in demons-
disbanded immediately and an Interim Executive trating indices of the Creator's concern in human
Director appointed. This was in the person of affairs. This group of roving evangelists-Jebo-
Mr. New]ove Mamattah, then as now of the vah's Witnesses. also popularly known as the
Institute of Adult Education, University of Watch Tower (through the name of their corpora-
Ghana. who was and is on duty for an indefinite tion) or as Jehovah's Travelling Salesmen-num. .
period as National Secretary of tbe Peoples bered just a little under one and a quarter million
Educational Association. (The P.E.A. is affiliat- throughout the world last year.
ed to and works hand in hand with the Institute In Ghana, these Witalesses, about 10,000 strong.
of Adult Education.) Under official stimulation can hardly be regarded as a mere addition to the
Mr Mamattah in turn disbanded the local varieties of the country's modern religious expres-
advisory committees which were helping to sion. For Witnesses here are part of the world-
keep the Centre alive. and as effective as was wide. highly organized movement committed to
possible. olltside Accra. Mr. Marnattah's inter- active expectation of the kingdom of God here
on earth. From their humble beginnings in Ghana
regnum lasted exactly four months to the day in 1924, these Witnesses in this country have been
of the assumption of power by Dr. Busia and looking forward to the day when the end of the
his Progress Party - as had been the all-round world would come. In their view, a11 people out-
understanding at the time of the interim appoint- side tbe close network of their New World Society
shall be destroyed in the impending battle of
ment of Mr. Mamattah. It was just long enough
Armageddon because, having failed to respond
to enable the Interim Director to complete to the cladon call to flee from the present lOde_
popular education towards the election exercise. vilish" world of politics. commerce, dnd religion
Now the Centre has been placed under a new pagan) such non-\Vitnesses h~ve been disqualified
head, Mr. B. D. G . Folson. a Senior Lecturer pagaRJ inch ReB WitReses ba·ve been c4iMlualtfied
from participation in the blessings of the mille-
in political science at Legan and very well nnIUm.
known to the general public as a sharpwitted
Millennial Expectation
and knowledgeable provocateur in political and
economic matters. But Mr. Folson's appointment But the sociology of millennial expectation is
much more complex. To give a promise of im-
is also a temporary one. He is in fact on second-
pending paradise is one thing; having it is another
ment from the University of Ghana for two maUer. Thus, the usual psychological responses
years, in the first instance. Whether he can or to disconfirmation of propbecy have been en-
will stay beyond that obviously depends on a countered in this movement. From 1874. when
host of unknown, indeterminable factors. And Pastor Charles T. Russel of the United States be
came convinced that the millennium was around
thereon hangs fhe continuing speculation of what
the corner, to the Second World War which was
can really be done to and with the Centre to the internal structure of the movement has under. .
give it a clearly defined role in our public life, supposed to be the last herald of the Theocracy.
to save it from the danger of overlapping with the internal structure of the movement has under. .
other establishments in providing popul:1r educa~ gone drastic changes.
tion, and to give it continuity and permanence in a There have been desertions on the part of people
who have wondered why the millennium has not
carefully chosen and structured role such as is
come as yet. A few of the original Watch Tower
suggested above. followers may have prospered materially. under
16 January 1970 THE LEGON OBSERVER 13
the control of the Society's cullie discipline; these Watch Tower leaders. alongside many bible stu-
have consequently gained some investment in this dents. had been engaged in serious calcl!lations of
world, and have presumably asked how different biblical dates. many of which pointed out to them
tbe new world might be from the present system that the beginning of the First World War would
of things. Then, too. there has been the Society's be very significant for human history.
attempt to outlive the towering leadership of the There is some temptation to think that the
founder, Taze Russel, whose death in 1916 nearly Society'S leadership, which finds disconfirmation
('nded the history of the Society altogether. of prophecy much more intellectually agonizing,
Joseph F. Rutherford's rigid and authoritarian shall be more interested in what God has already
leadership of the movement between 1917 and done, than in what He is about to do. The Crea-
1942 did a lot to save the movement from some tor's past actions appear more easily demonstra-
of the fissiparous tendencies, although be could ble', but this cannot be said of His futllTe activi-
hardly avoid the many schisms which led, ulti- ties, But the average Witness. on the other hand.
mately. to the adoption of the name "Jehovah's is much more likely to be interested in what is
Witnesses" in 1931. These set-backs apart, the coming, although how seriously he will take 1975
history of the Witnesses has been one of grown. as the new "probable date" on which the mille-
If numbers were all that mattered. then onc could nial dispensation might begin. is an open question.
agree with A. H. Macmillan's characterization of
their religion as "Faith on the March". Latter-day Jeremiahs?
Present-day Jehovah's Witness organization is
entirely different. What one now sees is a leader- Between 6th aod 11th Jaouary, 1970, at the
ship which is bent on exploiting the advantages Trade Fair site in Accra these "latter-day Jere-
of rational bureaucracy and efficient business pro-, miah's" in Ghana had their turn to discuss some
croures in holding the faithful together, as they aspects of God's work on the earth since 1914,
await the Second Coming. With obvious orienta- as well as the imminent thous3ll1d years of bliss
tion towards ideas of the holy. Witnesses never- which, they believe. might begin in the middle of
theless have their modes of social action constan- this decade. These Witnesses believe that since
tly affected by changing secular conceptions of the establishment of the kingdom in heaven in the
social organization. Autum of 1914, under Jesus Christ. Satan has lost
his once-privileged abode in heaven, and has since
Foci of Commitment become the god of this world. This is how the
Witnesses explain the various superhuman and
The principal paradox. as it affects every social invisible evil forces now playing upon mankind.
movement animated by precarious values, is how In 1914, tile 2520·year period of "gentile" domi-
to maintain order and authority in the Society nation, said to have been "propbesied" by Daniel,
\,,'ithoul sacrificing the enthusiasm and zeal which, came to a close. Jesus' own work in heaven since
to the rank and file, are the main foci of commit- He took control over there has consisted in clean-
ment to Watch Tower ideology. This is critical, sing the spiritual temple .. What the whole world
and the movement's directorate is presumably should have done, in the face of what Witnesses
aware of it. ThUs. as it has always done in the regard as the "conclusive, overwhelming avalan-
past. the Society has been explaining. to follower che of testimony before which no skepticism or
and prospective convert alike, what God's designs quibbling can stand", relating to the events of
have been for mankind. Not that Witnesses claim 1914, was to have acknowledged the birth of that
to be able to discern the dispositions of their heavenly kingdom. Instead, human beings assumed
Creator; there is very little of the puritan rationa- they could re1y upon themselves in solving human
lization of economic success in this regard. But. problems.
like any other religious movement which claims
to be the only acceptable instrument of divine What is now left to be faced squarely by all
purpose in the world, these "God's People" are mankind is the impending battle of Armageddon
sure that they have exclusive and continually un- wbich will be fought on this earth. (fhe reader
ravelling illumination into things which are closed will no doubt recall that the issue of the battle
to "outsiders", in heaven has been settled since 1914), The earthly
batie, said to be deadlier than all the wars of
The choice of the title. "The Approaching Peace hU0100 history put together, will settle the question
of a Thousand Years", which has 1914 as the of who will rule the earth. Inevitably, according
central point of departure, is crucial. Before 1914. to Witnesses, Jesus will win in that battle, too;
16 TIlE LEGON OBSERVER 161anuuy 1970
liten it was not complete. This therefore implied that I Easter 'Bu Ber' con&reptioDS of the Institute which
tbe government's action could be completed by taking used !O lake place in Kumasi have now been 5UlpeDdcd..
over the private schools also, for both arc outside the ~ne IS not thereby calling for a correspondillJ IUlpen.
public system. SIO~ of the Legan version. But, surely. the public is
J do not find any pan of my article suggesting entitled to ask whether any serious. meaningful rcsultl
that the private schools should be penalized; and the emerge from the Legon Schools.
taking ave. of an instiution does not in any way
imply pcnalisation. Otherwise one would say tbat the . The Institute has itself undergone a metamorphosis
laking over of the mission schools meant a penalisation In nomenclature. First, it was known as Institute of
of them. Extra-Mural Studies; then it became Institute of Public
I wonder whether Miss Hcrcward did not argue in Education; now it is lnstitute of Adult Education.
a circle by the statement: "Besides, a frcc and civilised It is difficult to predict what new name the Institute
country docs not take away the freedom of the inde- might adopt next. But perhaps the Institute needs a
pendent school", By "independent" docs she want me similar metamorphosis in its raison d'clre and style of
to understand that it applies only to tbe privately op~ration.
owned schools, or to all schools outside the public Socio!ogy \fax AsslJDellR
educational system? Which in cfl'cet will include the LegOD
Mission Scbools.
Commonwealth Hall J. 1<. Frimpong
Legon. The End of a War
SIR-Many peace· loving people throughout thl! world
Legon New Year Schools were greatly relieved to hear the news of the cessation
of the 30-month Nigeria-Biafm war on the 12th of
SIR - The Institute of Adult Education of the Univer- January, 1970. The end has clearly indica.ted that seces-
sity of Ghana has just ended its 2Ist New Year School sion in any form carried out in Africa cannot survive.
at Legan. This is one in a chain of annual rituals Wbile the whole continent of Africa is vigorously
which presumably are intended to convince Ghanaians working towards the realisation of its commor. goals
that tbc Institute still exists to servc the public. But and aspirations, as enshrined in the African Unity
is the public actually being served? Charter, both General Gowon and General Effiong
It is difficult to know what type of oJrganizational should be urged in the name of bumai1ity and of
reappra.isal is currently going on at the Institute. Cer- mother Arrica to coml! quickly to a settlement. They
tainly the type of functions it performed in pre-inde- can certainly shape the political history and destiny
pendence Ghana is different from what it is expected of Nigeria in particular, and Africa in general Their
to perform at the moment. One has a number of ques- great task is one of national reconstruction and
tions to ask. First, about the basis of recruitment to reconei !iatlon.
the New Year Schools. The sort of people who attend May both sides forget about ali the damage done
these schools, mostly teachers of varying pre-university and heal all political and war wounds, ,iO tbat they
levels, have seemed to convince one that :nany of them can once again live as kith and kin for a common goal
are more interested in the Legan atmosphere than in towards peace, prosperity and happiness.
the content of the "academic" discussions they are Kokomlemle. Accr.! E. Y. FrempoDg-l\f~h
supposed to imbibe. and then help to propagate.
Second, it has appeared that most of the participants,
especially the ladies. use the school as an opportunity
TIle Case of Ibe Allens
to obtain some sort of a holiday from their daily run
of activities - and at a very cheap rate. (participants SIR - Some time has elapsed since the "quit order'"
to this latest 8-day school paid NeW.OO :J.piece, while or the "compliance order" was i~sued which of course
the institute subsidizedd with NCI2.00 for each partici- has sparked off world wide talk. some of Clese not at
pant.) It is clear that there arc some people who have all in the interest of the nation. Some contend that
become virtually permanent Ncw Year students, for the policy though good was marred by its implemen-
reasons which would be very interesting to explore. tation, for the Government did not take the necessary
Finally. it appears there is a misplaced emphasis in precaution to forestall any possible ;>uffering that
the choice of theme, Why. for instance. should a sup- mi!!.ht befall the aliens concerned.
posed "leach in" on ''Translating Election Promises into The Government. in an attempt to §aye the good
Reality" not invite parliamentarians and leading poli- image of Ghana. has gone to tho extent of providing
ticians to pnrticipate, instead of their being invited as shelter. food and medical facilities through the Military
mere, occasional lecturers? After all, the dection pro- to the victims at Afienya and Anno.
mises were of their making, and a confrontation be- But it appears that this sympathetic hearing of the
tween the politicians and the electorate would not Government h beinJ!. taken for weakness. The aliens
have been out of place. arc now settled at these frontiers and 1r~ doing reat
From the amount of subsidy that goes into the run- trade, Little do they think of leaving. and whv should
ning of adult education, as in the runlling of the they when they are feeding far three times dail. gratis.
University of Ghana as a whole. the public is obviously Rumour has it that some of these aliens. in a last
entitled to have an idea of an evaluation of the results minute, rrantlc effort to serure the resident permit. are
of the Institute's activities. especially those highly "buyin~" our big men with large $Urns of money, This
publicised New Year Schools the value of which Is is a di,,~rnceful act. Othe~ in their hideouts feel that
becoming less and less evidert to the tax payer. The the noise about the "compliance order" wilt soon die
16 January 1970 TIIE LEGON OBSERVER 17
report the particular tro·tro dnver to the Ilt;:arest pollee
out like bush fire and they can once mo re breathe the station.
free air of Ghana. But what do we find today, in spite of \he warning?
Unfortunately, since that announcement was made,
We have had too much of that. I am convinced that
there has been nothing concrete done to ~beck wbether
if the government had applied a little force. as has been
this law is rigidly enforced and adhered to or not.
the case in the Congo, the plight of Dah~mians and
Just to quote one glaring example: The tro·tro drivers
Ghanaians in the Ivory Coast and Sierra Leone res-
plying from Accra New Town to Accra a rea categori·
pectively within two days after the "quit order" there
cally refused to comply with this order.
will be no trace of these prohibited aliens in the coun-
Why they have done so completely beats my imagi·
try and hence a drain on our economy. \Ve cannot
nation! And still today nothing has been done to
cat cakes and have them. The policy of (ree medical
them. as they arbitrarily cont inue to charge 5Np.
treatment. shelter and food must stop.
This unfortunate disregard of the law is certainly
At1:mtic Hall F. A. Andoh
serious, and I wonder whether these tro·tro drivers
Uoivcrsity College
have more power than the Minister for Transpc-rt and
Cape Cons)
Communications!
I certainly feel th at the Minister responsible for
Why This Soccer Fanaticism? Transport and Communications should one day avail
SIR When Lima incident occurred .lnd over two himself of an opportunity to see these conditions for
hundred people died and a great number mo~ barely himself and come to the aid of the poor workers who
got off with injuries, J personally thought it was only in mainly rely on these vehicles to and from work. Other·
South America thaI such incidents could happen, as wise, J am afraid a recent newstory which appeared
we in Africa in general and Ghana in particular do in an Accra daily - that "two men. one a policcman,
not attach too much fanaticism to soccer. Now mis· were killed in the little village of Black Gate, North
taken r was! Just recently a simila r stampede occurred Jamaica, in an argument over five cents" (about five
in Congo·Kinshasa which resulted in the death of pcsewa~), may be repeated here one day.
about fourteen people, not to mention those who were Kokomlemle. Accrn Frempong.Mcnsab
inju red.
Now it's the tum of Ghana's Kumasi. It was reported
in the dailies that during an outstanding league malch
between Cornerstones and Kotoko a riot broke out.
As a result of this Osei Kofi. Ghana's George Best. Miscellaneous
was taken to the Okomfo Anokye Hospital uncof'scious.
In all three instances the riot was started by supporters.
This goes to underscore the fact that of late soccer MY NEW YEAR RESOLUTIONS
is being turned into a game of riot by supporters
whose only idea is to see that their favourite team wins. By
The authorities should do all within th-.:ir power to
curb this mounting hooliganism in soccer, especially Kontopiaat
at the Kumasi ladium. I am quite sure that if attempts THOSE of you who were admitted into tbe secrets of the
arc not made to curb this sort of rowdi~m it will Christmas celebrations in Kontopiaatkrom will appr~
develop into a state where it will definitely become ciate my failure to produce my Ncw Year resolutions
"incurable". so far. But there is yet another explanation. You see,
At a time when referces are putting in all their since 1970 is not just any ordinary year but also the
efforts to minimise incidcnts caused by players of beginning of a whole decade, we all havc to be particu·
oppo~ing teams. spectators also want to take up where larly careful about what we commit ourselves to since
the players leave off. Il is my ardent bclicf that the we will be haunted by these resolutions for ten whole
Kumasi soccer fans will not strike their chests for years. Indeed, for the latter reason, the new year rcso,
being originators of such incidents. because it will do lution of many people in Dompokrom has been simply
them no good. Thi s e"i1 should be stamped out early. not to make any resolutions for this crucial year! Bul.
else it " .. ill take root. of course, not those of Kontopiaatkrom, so here we go
P. O. Bo:t 1769 Summy King Oduro Denkyi
Accra Our New Ycar resolution Number One is to apply to
the Minister of Trade and Industry for an unnumbered
export licencc to export virtually all tbe Syrians, Leba-
Tro-Iro Fares nese. Indians from the country. Ii Kwadwo and Yaa
Alala are gone, we in Kontopiaatkrom fail to see why
SIR A few months before Christmas, !.be Minister these people who are the subject of our resolution
responsible for Transport and Communications warned should remain . 11 is our hope that this decade will go
the "tro·tro" drhers in the country that it would be down in our history as the decade of the liberation of
wrong on their part to increase the <.lriginal fares the country from the economic domination of aliens_
arbitrarily from 2!Np to 5Np. Indeed. as a necessary
measure to enforce the order. the official rates for all Resolution Number Two is to ban " or rather, to
the trO-lTO lmnsport sys.tems. especially in l.he Accra· discourage thc Ghana Parenthood Association . If,
Tcma city area. were immediately released and widely thanks to the Minister of Interim, aided and abetted
publicised in all the '-arious newspapers in the country. by the Minister of Trade, we are going to drive away
The waming further urged that any passengo:r who was. aUens, foreigncrs and expatriates (i.c. Africans, AsiatlQi
(orcro to pay more than the stipulated fare should and Europeans) and if, as a consequence, the popula.
_J. ~ ,, __
IS,j --.. -: .,' .. - THE LEGONOBsERV$,
tion of this. counh)' will be red,uced by at ~lI.St two should be used (or all the 'toasta!
i11IDion, why then !>hould we waste ti.me preaching Any V.I.P. who will be welcomed on his arriVJtl pd
tiirth control and all that? given a banquet alooa the lines-, suuesced here ViiU
'Resolution Number Three is to seriously consider then bave absolutely nO" doubt that be is In a tnlIy
jOining 'either the Busia Government or Dr. Agama's sovereign and independent African. sta,te; a state: w.hi ch
group. We in "Kontopiaatkrom h;lve come to realise has been able to shake off all the' vcsti&es of coioniaiJsm
that the only way of g.citing an)! son of ours ever to in the cultural and culinary fields!
drive in any of the posh 23.0 or 250 or 280 Benz OUf Number Six resolution is to ensure that we do
cars is to get him into Bu~ia's governmenL On the get counted in this year's census. We in Kontopiaat·
other hand. considering the rate at which the founders hom never saw a single enumerator durinc: the 1960
and former officers of N.A.L. have been deserting Dr. census, and the result was that when it came to tbe
Agama, there is a great fear that the Opposition may lime of providing amenities and building schools. dis-
disintegrate half-way through the decade, and. since pensaries, etc., all our requests were tUrned down on'
we do sincerely and passionately believe in parliament- the grounds that our name did not even appear -in
ary democracy and ipso facto in an effective Opposition the census records 1 No, Sir, we won't make that mis-
Party, we have to do something about it. This question take again!
will obviously be the first item on the agenda of the OUf Seventh resolution is that in the cou~ of the
first meeting of the new Sitting Committee of the first half of this decade, we should get strict regula-
RENYP I RA coalition. tions about funerals, worked out and implemented. For
Resolution Number Four which follows from the instance, we would like to see that:
above is to send a letter of congratulations to the (a) All ceremonies connected with the death of any
Headmaster of the school which has produced both person should not last more than two days, the
the Prime h1.inister and the Leader of the Opposition. day when the burial takes place and the next
This school is of course, Mfantsipim. Well done. day when funeral expenses are reckoned and
Kwabotwe! shared out;
Resolution Number Five is to get the State Protocol (b) Donations arc limited to 20np. per male and
completely Ghanaianized. You see, a few days ago 1 IOnp. per female;
came home to find two visitors from Kontopiaatkrom (c) Only palm wine, pito, nme-daa and drinks like
in my house, one hiding under the bed and the other that should be served during funerals etc.;
poised with a cutlass behind the door. On enquiry (d) All memorial services. which have now really
they told me that they heard a number of gun shots become fund-raising exercises for churches,
and thought that either there had been a coup or should be abolished.
Ghana had been invaded. It took me some time to We are sure that if aU these measures are fully
explain to them that what they heard was the 21-Gun implemented, the indebtedness and impecuniousness of
salute in honour of a V.I.P. who had then disembarked raters in particular and some Akan families in general
from a plane. The comment of the first was "What w' come to an end before the closing of the decade.
a waste of gun-powder". The other asked: "Why can't he last and final New Year Resolution is that
they tbink of a less belligerent way of welcoming Kontopiaat should be silenced for the next six to
visitors even if they are all that important. Why can't eight month'i and sent on a course to prepare him for
they be welcomed with tbe Atumpan drums, Ntahara the post of the first Ghanaain Ambasador to
orchestra or Kolomashie or Ac;afo drumming". Why Mars d~ng the second half of the decade.
indeed, furthermore, instead of inspecting a Guard P.S. May I, Kwadwo Kontopiaal and the people of
of Honour which is all a waste of time in tbe first Kontopiaatkrom express our sincere tbanks to all Our
place, and nothing but a blind apeing of things admirers who sent us Christmas and the seac;on""
European - I bet there is nobody bere who knows greetings.
the origins of this strange practice - why not pour a
libation. Some people may contend that this is pagan.
But then, since a majority of Ghanaians are pagan
according to the Kontopiaatkrom Statistician, and since News Summary
we all believe, that the view of the majority must
always prevail. pagan customs should not be rejected GHANA
out of hand. Indeed. we would like to go even further
on the question of state protocol. Why for instance Acero Jao. 6
should salmon. roast beef, Yorkshire pudding or roast Srale Hotels Corporation Takes (her
Turkey and expensive wines be served at our state An instrument which came into forcc on 19th Decem-
banquets and dinners? Can't something truly Ghanaian ber, 1969 and which was published in Accra yesterday
be substituted? We of Kontopiaatkrom would like has transferred all the assets, liabilities and property
to suggest the following menu for a state banquet: of the former Ghana Hotels and TouriSL Corporation
First Course: Aprapransa, or Akpligii as the Ga to the State Hotels Corporation. The G.H.T.L was
call it or Abodoo and koobi or tatale and aboboi. dissolved by this instrument. which bears the signature
Second Course.' (The main course) Green green r"I!" Mr, ). W. K. Hllrlley. Deputy Cbainnan of thl:"
(naturally), or Fueu and Abenkwan or Nkatcnkwan or Presidential Cummission.
Akple or Banku and Okro and Garden Eggs stew .. The instrument places responsibility for ever)" con-
There should be no dessert since this should be built tract in respect of all (government?) hotels, chalell.
into the suond course. Pita and palm wine should b.e ' . huts and 'inns in the hands of the State' Hotels Corpora-
~rved with the first and second courses, and Bramsco tion.
'/
16 January 1970 TIlE LEGON OBSERVER 19
TIID8te'", 6 with "their party troubles always before me".
Rice to Financial Crdi.5
Accra I.n, 8
As much as 55,000 bags of paddy ric~ grown by U nu.nt in na
Tamale district fanners may not be bought and sold
by the Northern Regional Rice Committee riuTing this THE Secretary-General of tbe United Nations, U Thant,
trading unless the gmcmment comes to the Committee', wu today given a warm welcome when he arrived at
rC5CUC. A prc\'ious purchase of 6,000 bags of the the Kotob international Airport here from Moronvia.
commodity from the farmers by the CO'l1D1inee is Liberia, to begin a two-day visit at tbe invitation of tbe
reported to be still unpaid for. A bag of paddy (that is, government. Tbe Secretary-General was accompanied
fice in the husks) costs NC9 in Ghana. by Mr. I. Djennakoye, under-secretary-general for
This state of affairs was oisclosed at lbe rice mill Trusteeship Affairs. He was met on arrival by the
here yesterday to Mr. K. C. Y. Anakwa. Northern Pnme Minister, Dr. K. A. Busia, cabinet ministers.
Regional Administrati"c Officer, by Mr. N. Yenli. officials of the U.N. Specialised Agencies. and heads
Agricultural Officer, Northern Region. Mr. Yenli slated of diplomatic missions in Ghana.
further that tbe Rice Committee had been able to
buy only 9,000 bags from the farmers during 1be season, Accrn. IDn, JO
with the previously mentioned 55,000 bags still to U Than! on Peace Prospects
come from the farmers befofe the end of the season Tile United Nations Secretary-General said yesterday
The possible effect of this scarcity of cash, said Mr. that the U.N. Charter was not responsible for its own
Yenli, was pressure on the farmer to smuggle ~is com- impontence. and that Ihe fault lay "with member states
modity across the border into the territories of Gbana's who do not respect the recommendations or resolutions
neighbbours. ",here a ready market would be open te of the U.N." He was speaking at a news conference
them. here.
The Secretary-General, leaving here today after a
"een Ian. 6
R.E.C!;. Take Oalh Office two-day visit to Ghana, was optimistic about peace of
prospects in the coming decade. "We are now coming
Eight Regional Chief Executives. together with the 10 an end of the cold war, after two decades of its exis-
Auditor-General. Mr Ahenkora Osci. have today taken tence", he declared.
their Oaths of Office at the Castle. Osu. They took U Thant said whelher or not the U .N. would become
two oaths each: of office and of secrecy• .111 excepl an effective weapon in the promotion of peace and
Mr. Ahenkora Osci. who did only the Oath of Office. progress in the world would depend on the member
The ceremony was performed by Brigadier Afrifa . in states, particularly on the pennanent member stateo; on
the presence of the other two Presidential Commis- the Security Council
sionen. Mr. Harlley and Lt.-Gen. A. K Oeran. and
Prime Minister Dr K. A. Busia. Kumasl Jan. 10
Many loin Co~ Cape Coast Science Studenl!
It IS reported In official quarters tbat so far ovet THE National Union of Ghana Students (N .U.G.S.), has
6.000 applicants have registered for service in the called on the authorities of the University College of
Corps. The District Administrative Officer, Mr. p. Cape Coast to call into residence as soon as practicable
Quaye. said hundreds were queueing up daily to all the final year science students who boycotted e,ami-
register. and that 2J5 registrati on officers had been nations las t term A statement issued here yesterday
distributed around Sn!: constituencies within the and signed by Mr T A. Coleman-, the national president
Greater-Accra region to speed up the process. of the union, said it would be wrong for a ccrtain
students to be victimised as a result of the boycott.
Opposition Leoder Crititi!Je8
The union expressed concern ovcr affairs at the
Dr. G. K. Agama. Leader of the Parliamentary college and said it took cognisance of tbe case of the
Opposition. today repeated his criticism of the govern- boycott. namely that successful candidates at the exami-
mcnt's handling of the aliens issue which he had nations would be registered by tbe univcrsity for the
made first at the New Year School five days earlier. final c){3mmations while tbe unsuccessful ones would
But he also re-cmphasi~ed that the Opposition would bave to regisler as private candidates. It said the final
not stand in the way of the go\emment's efforts to year students had had no prior knowledge of the con-
enforce the la ..... s of Ghana. His main complaint was ditions and therefore had refused to take the examina.
that the government had not observed its own allow- tions.
an.:e of nine months grace to foreign embassics with
large populations here and that these "honf"lurable Attni Ian. 12
obligations", 1£ carried out, would have gi"en those 0se14BOOiIRJ Sworn In
affected until April 11)70 10 comply or quit.
MR K. G. Osci-Bonsu, former Ministerial Secretary to
BolJI;alallla. Jan. 7 the National Security Council, was today sworn in a~
Judge and P.rty Supporters Minister of Slale and Chief of State Protocol at the:
Mr. George Lamptey. presiding o\"er a circuit court Castle, Osu. Mr O.sei 4 Bonsu took the ministeri:ll and
here }"csterday cxpruscd concern o .... cr l.he unfriendly cabinet oath before Brigadier A . A. Afrifa, Chairman ;
attttude of both supponers of the Nalion;!1 Alliance Mr J . W K. Harlley, Dcpuly Chairman; and Lieutenanl-
(If Llhcnlls and the Prosres5 Party in the Upper GC:"Icral A K. Ocran, member, all of the Presidential
Region. He observed that IUpportecs of these two Commission. AI!IO pretent at the ceremony was Mr.
rival parti~ had made his wort very difficult in the N . A. Quao, newly-appointed s«retary to the Presiden-
rqion ever since he anumed duty lOme months aso. tial Commiuion.
20 TIlE LEGON OBSERVER UI January 1970
•
HENKES'
•
•
half a century
•
•
LARGE BOTILE NSZl.70
I BOITLE • • N~.OO
1 BQITLE ; . ... N!Zl.05
SOLE DISTRIBUTORS ,IN GHANA
WINE & SPIRIT DISTRIBUTORS (GHANA) LTD.
P. O. BOX S202, ACCRA TEUlPHONE 21700: .
Printed by the Libert)' PreD Ltd. .• for the 1.eI0II Society on NatknW Affain, l.cIOG, Ghana. Editorial Committee: ~ K. A. 8.
n
Joncs-Quartey; Memben : K. B. Dicluoo, E. Yaw '''.um.asi, 1, Hyde (freuurer). J. A. Peuab, A. A4u Boahca, K. E. A.djd (Be.sf
SecrcUry), S. O. Oyandoh. J . K. AoemUII. 1. Nuob, D. K. Afrdl, The University of Ghana and itt departmcats IIf'C in no WIly e··" ••"
.nih the !.qOrt Obnrvn. E4itorial .... d I.lI otbo:r 1Xl"~dcnee (advcrtiJ:inl, sublCription , di.tribution ..m e,. and olba ~ caqairic:s)
tbould be addreacd to the Ed.ilor, The Lq'on Obstna, P.O. Uo. 11 , Leaon, Ghana. Ll~ No. NP/OIS/lUIiOS.
,
se,.",,.
Vol. V No.3 30 January - 12 February 1970 Price lSup
II TNI. ISSUE EDITDRIAL
OUR ervlL SERVANTS
SHAll WE IN any change of political administration. one expects changes. of one kind or the other. in the upper echelons of
of the coun:ry's permanent civil administration. Men who
END CAPITAL became closely identified with the policy formation and execu:ion of an erstwhile regime thus come to ti!nd that they
are no longer required 10 ~he previous locations in which
PUNISHMENT? they worked. Although this switch of positions may appear distasteful
to top-level administrators who may have had psychological
- if not ma!eriai - investment in their previous positions.
EDITORIAL I it enables a new goverrnment to begin its administration
Our Civil Servants qu ite afresh.
LSNA COMMUNICATION 2 Of course the nation benefits from :he democratic ideals
AFRlCA _.. ..,. 3 which ensure the permanency, political neutrality, and conti-
.. The Need for Reviving Pan·Africanism nuity of tenure of its civil servants. Their permanency
J. K. Obatala
and coo:inuily help to offset the vaga ries ot political for-
SOCIAL PROBLEMS .. ... ... ... 7 tunes. But, clearly. there are certain positions in the civil
Capital Punishment -
Time to Abolish it? service which are politically sensitive, and a government
- by Ben Adam has a right to determine the criteria for bolding such posi.
OBSERVER NOTEBOOK . ... ... 8 tions.
Nuisance in the Streets A case in point is the office o:fl Chief of State Protocol.
Containing Dubcek
• Towards tbe latter s:ages of Nkrumah's rule, this office
LETTERS .,. ... 10 was held, at one time. by a minister of cabinet rank .
Training "Our Intellectuals"?
The End of Secession Whatever one now bas to Eay about Nkrumah and his
On the Extinction of the regime, it appeared :be protol:orial aspect of his government
"Biafra Republic"
The Nigerian War was unimpeachable. jf for purposes of evaluating efficiency
Implementing Commissions of only. After the coup d'etat of February 1966. when political
Enquiry Reports
Aliens and our Politicians activities were banned, this politicaUy impor!ant office fell
Missonary Schools and Liberalism to a higb rankmg civil servant.
Oburani Muntu and African Ideology
" Is Christmas for Christians'" Under the National Liberation Council. !he office of
An Englishwoman's View of Christmas
The Watch Tower Prophecies Chief of Sta:e Protocol apparently functioned with superb.
Tbe Significance of Guru Nanak miJitary efficiency and candour. Not all Ghanaians had the
opportunity of dining and wming at tbe expense of that
BOOK REVIEW 16
The Chosen Tongue (Gerald Moore) office, it is :rue. But certainly no shocking stories emerged
- Reviewed by.E. Ofori Akyea which tended to expose the country as lacking in mannerism
MISCELLANEOUS 16 and courtesy. It was surprisin:;, therefore, to discover that
Wbo is a Ghanaian? :he first few performances of the office, under the Iflew
- by Kwadwo Kontopiaat
Poem: Atenteben Progress Party regime, became extremely distas!efu1.
NEWS SUMMARY . 19 Two of these performances deserve special mention. On
the occasion ot: the launching of the civilian government.
SUPPLEMENT it was discovered :hal the gadgetry and electrical aspects
for the occasion were horrible, delayed, and confusing. On
Local Government another occasion. during a State H Ollse dinner, things were
and so bad that some of tbe foreign dignitaries and ambassadors
Nation-Building were seen to be wi:bout foed or the proper wine, while
By J. K. Ansere certain gate crashing "invitees" of questionable standing bad
;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;-- actually already bad their fiji It is said tbat matters became
2 THE LEGON OBSERVER 30 January 1970
so bad owing to the shortage of stewards. that
a minister of the governmen! had to go to the L.S.N.A. Communl,at/on
kitchen to dish out food with which to serve
~ome of (he invited guests.
AT THE general meeting of the Legan Societ)
A committee of enquiry was subsequen:ly em Na!ional Affairs. held on 23rd January. 1970.
appointed to probe especially the Slate House the following officers for the Council were elected:
dinner affair. Its report has been aUegedly sent President. K. A. B. Jones-Quartey; Vice-President.
to the Prime Minis:el on whose prompting the E. J. Thompson; Secretary. Kwame Afreh; Trea·
committee was set up. But. while the report has surer. I. M. Hyde. Members: I. K. Tufuoh. Kwame
not been published as yet, there are disturbing Arhin. J. M. Assimeng. J. A. Peasah, A. A. Boa·
hen, E. Amu, Kwame Adjei, and S. O. Gyandoh,
s:ories about some events which have probably 1m. Editorial Board: Chairman. K. A. B. Jones-
arison (rom the findings oe the committee. Quartey; Editor. J. M. Assimeng; Asst. Editors.
Mr. K. B. Ayensu. the Chief of State Protocol Kwame Arhin and A. K. P. Kludze. Members:
A. A. Boahen. J. E. A. Manu, J. A. Peasab, S. O.
in question. bas Olpparently been "fired", in a
Gyandoh. Kwame Afreh. Kwame Adjei (Business
manner which raises the whole principle of the Secretary), J. M. Hyde (Treasurer), I. K. Tufuob.
ploper relationship be:ween politicians and civil Jawa Apronti and E. Ofori Akyea.
servants. This gentleman was said to have been
filst asked to go on an indefinite leave; later. a
minister was appointed to take his place; DOW, CORRECfJON
it is difficult to know Mr. Ayensu's present posi-
The Obse.ner apologizes for the numerous proof-
tion in the civil service. reading oversights and typographical errors in the
issue of January 16. 1970. The article on "Jehovah's
Although one n'akes the usual allowance for Witnesses and the Millennium" suffered particularly
human frailty, it is not the intention of the Legon badly. In fairness to the Watch Tower Sect. our rea-
ders, and the author of that article, we reproduce
Observer to hold 'l brief for civil servants whose below. the correct version of paragrapb 20, which
behaviour has merited dismissal, or enforced began on page 14. column ii, of that issue. - The
Editor.
transfer. In the interest of democracy the decision Worshippers of science, and "the new priesthood
of politicians - if they are the genuine represen- of medical men" (the laUe! is an apparent refe-
rence to the blood IransNsion question) usually
:atives of the people - must hold sway over that get their usual share of indictment during such
of bureaucrats, however high-powered. divine assemblies, though this is consistent with
the world-view of the Witnesses. The Society
But one becomes worried if :be exercise of a tcachcs that sccular knowledge brings danger, and
governmental privilege appears to border on arbi- that the im-olvcment of scientific men in deci-
!;ion making is a threat to democracy. Also. at
trariness. If a committee of enquiry has been a lime women compete with men for pl!>itions
set up to probe the affairs of an office, the of responsibility. Witnesses admonish that genuine
Chri~tian womcn will do well to conform to their
public is surely en:itled to know its findings. If "God assigned" positions at home, as enjoined
the revelations in the findings are seen by ::he gov- by SI. Paul. By such "willing subjection" to their
husbands, women will thereby escape many psy-
ernment to be unpublisbable. a subtle way must chiatric problems which. Witnesses believe, arise
be found for informing the public; and jf a top from discontent with traditional sex roles. Wit-
nesses do nol ignore secular arguments altogether.
civil servant is to be dismissed, i: stands to reason
that the public is entitled to know the facts of
the case, so tba: the public can learn from what
is required of top level civil servanrs. In our n ext issue
Unless the normal decisions and deliberations
of the government are made pUblic, the govern- The Need for Legal Aid in Ghana
ment will have difficulty in answering popular
charges of tendenci~ towards dictatorship and by Kwame Afreh
high-handedness.
30 January 1970 TIIE LEGON OBSERVER
periaJism-is responsible for the existence of ov~r
Africa a hundred million Africans outside the geographI-
cal boundaries of continental Africa.
THE NEED FOR REVIVING Yet it is not the mere existence of Africans
PAN-AFRICANISM outside Africa that renders any geographical or
cultural definition of Africa and its people in-
By
adequate. For, if geographical Africa en~s where
J. K. Obatala
the Atlantic begins. and cultural AfTlca ends
(An Afro·American Student at Legon)
South of the Mason-Dixon line (which divides the
DURING the course of a conversation, I once
Northern from the Southern Region of the U.S.),
suggested to a feUow student at the University of
politically and economically speaking, Africa can
Ghana that servants should be sent to trade
be found wherever black people exist and are
schools. and that students should do for them~elves conscious of Africa as their home land. (Thus both
what the servants were doing for them. HIs re-
Afro-Americans and Afro-Canadians settled in
action was that I was not a "Ghanaian" and. fur-
Sierra Leone in the 18th century, while freed slaves
thermore, that I was not even an African, and thus
from the Southern United States settled in Liberia
had no right to make such a suggestion. The un-
in the century that followed).
derlying proposition. of course, was that I should
either accept things as they are here or else go
Nations as Artificial Entities?
"home" .
His reaction illustrated to me (1) the insuffi- The main problem then, is this: tribal, national
ciency of tribal and parochial, i.e.. "national", and even continental conceptions of Africa fail
histories, and (2) the need for a revival of the to take into account ~he histor.ic. ~Ie p.la~ed by
Pan-African ideal. For, it was obvious that be New World Africans ill determmmg Afnca s des-
did Dot understand that Africans and American tiny. My "Ghanaian" brother, for example, could
negroes were one people. As the dialogue deve- not possibly have known that it was displaced
loped, he asked me what my political convictions Africans from the West Indies ('~Afro-West
were and I told him that I believed in Pan- Indians") who introduced avocado pears, mangoes,
Africanism. What I didn't tell him was that it was cocoyams and coffee into the "Gold Coast" back
he who had just converted me! in 1847, a full one hundred years before "Ghana"
Indeed, when I left the United States I was a came into existence (see Fred M. Agyemang, The
dedicated Afro-American "Nationalist" and had Story of the Middle Boarding Schools ill Ghana:
always thought of African Nationalism as an end 1867 10 1967, Waterville, 1967)! Nor could my
in itself. But my encounter with this colleague re- "Ghanaian Nationalist" brother have appreciated
vealed to me openly and clearly the utterly re- the fact that many a great "Ghanaian" (Kwegyir
actionary and self-defeating nature of nationalism. Aggrey among them) were trained in institutions
For, in his own mind, the fact that I was not of higher learning in America whi~h were owned,
"Ghanaian" had everything in the world to do supported, controlled and operated by New World
with the usefulness of my ideas. Africans. Suppose we had said to such great
Afric:ans as John Chilembwe of Ny.saland,
Faulty Conception o[ Africa Nnamdi Azikiwe of Nigeria and Kwame Nkrumah
of Ghana. aU of whom were educated in our
While I have been well treated by most people universities. "No! Why you are not even Afro-
here, I must say that I have encountered a large American" !
number of "Ghanaians" (especially in the univer-
I am Dot by any means implying that continental
sity environment) who have seemed to me to be
Africans owe us anything: indeed, my innermost
conceptually ill equipped to relate to me as a
convictions are that just the opposite is true. What
fellow African. This. of course, means that such I am saying is that "Ghana", like all other African
individuals have no conception of what Africa
"countries", is an artificial entity--created out of a
really is, other than a geographical entity bounded
misunderstanding of the real objectives of national
by the Atlantic Ocean, the Pacific Ocean and the
struggle-and should not be allowed. to stand in
Mediterranean and Red Seas. This strictly geogra-
phica1 conception, however, does not take into the way of African liberation which can only be
account the dispersal of African people abroad achieved through co-operation and relentless
since the 15th century. Indeed, tbe slave trade struggle on the part of all African people, at home
and abroad. Neither is it my position that the
alone-not to mention colonialism, war and im-
interest of the people here should be neglected
4 THE LEGON OBSERVER 30 January 1970
MANAGEMENT DEVELOPMENT AND
PRODUCTIVITY INSTITUTE
SENIOR STAFF VACANCIES
Applications are invited from qualified Ghanaians for vacancies
in the Management Development and Productivity Institute (Ghana
Government/UNDP Project).
The Institute is being assisted by a United Nations Special Fund
Project operated by a team of specialists in Industrial Engineering.
Management Accounting and Cost Accounting, Work Study, Super-
visory Training, Marketing and Sales, General Management, etc.
from the International Labour Office and other agencies. The success-
ful applicants will initially work as counterparts (designated as Assis-
tant Consultants) to members of the international team, training to
take over full responsibility during the five-year life of the Project,
after which it is planned to be fully supported by national personnel.
Promotion possibilities to higher grades exist for the successful
candidates.
The objects of the Institute are:
I. Organising training courses, conferences, seminars, etc. for person-
nel from all sectors of industry in the country in the field of general
management, industrial engineering, financial and management
accounting, marketing and sales, etc;
2. Providing an advisory and consulting service to all sectors of
industry on the solution of problems concerning the raising of
productivity and efficiency;
3. Carrying out studies, enquiries and research in the fields of mana-
gement development and productivity, in co-operation with indus-
try and organisations with related interests; .
4. The publication of information collected, and the results of the
studies, enquiries and surveys, in the form of books, periodicals,
bulletins, and bibliographies;
5. Serving as an Institute for collecting information on the most
modern developments in management and organisation and
making such information readily and constantly available to those
responsible for the nmning of the national economy.
QUALIFICATIONS:
I. ENGINEER
(a) University Degree in Engineering (Mechanical/Industrial) or
equivalent professional qualification.
and
(b) A minimum of four years relevant experience in industry,
or commerce. Teaching experience would be an asset.
II. ACCOUNTANT:
(a) Professional qualification in Accounting (e.g. A.C.CA, CA,
A.C.W.A. etc.).
and
(b) A m~imum of four years experience in Senior Accounting
capacIty m mdustry or commerce. Teaching experience would
be an asset.
m. MARKETING OFFICER
(a) University Degree in Commerce, Economics or Business Admi-
nistration or relevant qualification in Marketing. Must have
(CoDlinued on Pap 5]
30 January 1970 THE LEGON OBSERVER 5
[Continued from Page 4J
taken some courses in Statistics.
and -'
(b) A minimum of four years experience in Senior Marketing capa-
city (Sales Manager) in a marketing organisation. Teachmg
experience would be an asset.
IV. SUPERVISORY TRAINING OFFICER
(a) A University Degree in Commerce, Economics or Business
Administration or membership by examination of a recognised
professional body.
and
(b) A minimum of four years experience in industry as Supervisor,
or Training Officer.
DunES OF POSTS I TO IV
To serve as a member of a team of Assistant ConsuItafits in the Institute
charged with assisting industry both private and public through theoretical and r
practical training and management consulting services. to raise industrial pro-
ductivity and improve managerial perlormance.
SALARY:
<al I. II. m. & IV - NC2880 x 120 - 3720 x 160 - NC4840.
(b) Point of entry will be detennined by experience and qualifications. Fringe
benefits and car purchase loan granted.
V. ASSISTANT TRAINING OFFICER
QUALIFICATIONS:
(a) University Degree in Commerce, Economics, or Business Administration
or equivalent professional qualification by examination.
and
(b) A mmimum of four years relevant experience in industry or commerce.
DUTIES:
Will assist the Head of the Training Department in planning, organising and
implementing the Training Programmes of the Institute.
VI. ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER
QUALIFICATIONS:
(a) University Degree in Commerce. Economics or Business Administration
or equivalent professional qualification by examination.
and
(b) A minimum of four years relevant administrative experience in industry or
commerce or public service.
DUTIES:
Will assist the Head of Administration Department ion Offering administrative
support services to the various departments of the Institute. -
YD. SECRETARY
QUALIFICATIONS:
Applicants must possess the G.C.E. Ordinary Level (Credit in English) or
its equivalent i.c. Qualifying English Examination and be qualified Stenographer!
Secretary for a period of not less than 5 years.
DUTIES:
To act as Private Secretary to the Director and carry out other aeneral
secretarial duties. .:::>
SALARY:
V. VI. & VII - NC2000 x 80 - 2800 x 120 - NC3640.
Applications stating age, experience, qualifications and present post and
salary should be sent to:
THE DIRECTOR,
MANAGEI\IENT DEVELOPMENT & PRODUCTIVITY
INSTITUTE,
P.O. BOX 297,
ACCRA
CLOSING DATE: 10TH FEBRUARY. 1970.
6 THE LEGON OBSERVER 30 JanlUUY 1970
in the interest of international affairs. I am simply therefore be a history of the African people at
saying that the historic ties which bind Africans home and abroad. rather thoilD a tribal history of
and their brothers abroad transcend any presently the African continent. The acceptance by African
existing "national state"-with the exception of historians of the African diaspor,a (the African
Ethiopia-and that it is detrimental to the cause abroad) as a legitimate branch of African historio-
of African progress and development to allow graphy is a primitive but significant step in this
nationalism to come between us. direction.
For, Africans in America ("Afro-Americans") Themes in African History
are over 25,000.000 in number and, although large-
ly backward, we still have among us a greater Similarly, it is from this new-Pan·African history
concentration of doctors, carpenters. chemists, that the artist must draw his themes. The heroes.
bricklayers. mechanics, teachers, etc. than any of his novels and plays must be the heroes
other single grouping of African people on or off of the struggle for Afrjcan liberation. and not
the continent. If somehow continental Africa could master exploiters and committers of fratricide.
manage to harness this vast reservoir of talent. That some king, for example, could field an
skill and technological training. Africa's degrading army of 200.000 men is not worthy of artistic
dependence upon tbe charity of the white western interpretation if he used his forces to conquer
world could be accomplished through a revival other Africans rather than resist the encroachment
of the Pan·African ideal. of European imperialism upon the territorial inte-
grity of the African people. If dealt with at aU.
Task 01 Black InIeUectuals the Pan-African artist-as a secondary histodan-
must expose such a ruler for what he actuaUy
was: either a coward, an opportunist and/or a
Africans at home and abroad must be made to black imperialist exploiter. He must not be glori-
understand that they are historically and politically fied before the eyes of the people. At the same
ODC people. engaged in a common struggle against time, the Pan-African artist must not neglect the
the common enemies of poverty. backwardness and struggle of Africans in the New World as a source
of inspiration for his art. He must be careful,
economic exploitation. Africans in America in par· however. not to confuse integrationist opportunism
ticular-since they have never been and will never with the struggle for African liberation. Men like
become an integral part of that country-must Marcus Garvey. George Padmore. Joseph Cinque.
be made to feel at home on this continent, the W. E. B. Du Bois and Malcolm X were of a radi-
place of their origin. caUy different tradition from that of men such
This is the task of the black inteUectual commu· as Frederick Douglass. Whitney Young and Roy
nity, especially the historian and the artist, at home Wilkins. The former were concerned with the
and abroad. The black. historian, for example. liberation of African people. and the latter simply
must relegate to a secondary importance such wanted to be admitted into the "mainstream" cA
superficial issues as who carved th~ best ivory
knife handles. or which tribe was the most effi· American life.
cient exploiter of other Africans. Instead. the In conclusion. I would simply like to suggest
dominant theme in African history must become that African governments devise some type of
the African Liberation Struggle . .a theme which
scheme whereby African talent could be removed
is muc-h broader and much older than Ghana as
a nation sta!e. For. the struggle was in progress from the New World. especially America. where it
long before "Ghana" came into existence and will is being exploited. abused. and waited. The scheme
probably continue long after it has assumed its should be Pan-African in nature and the "'coun_
rightful and more realistic position as a state or
tries" in the greatest need should receive pr~
district under a unified African government. More·
over. the struggle has not been carried on ex~ dence over aU others.
elusively by continental Africans in the past and. Before such a scheme could be successfully
in view of the new wave of Pan-African con- carried out. however. the psychological ground-
sciousness that is sweeping across America. there
is no reason to believe that this will be the case work must be well laid by black intelloctuak. both
at any point in the future. African history must in Africa and abroad
30 January 1970 THE LEGON OBSERVER
7
to end capital punishment, asserting that ·:he
Social Problems death penalty oITered such a threat that cer:ain
criminals would go to the extreme in attempt·
CAPITAL PUNISHll>1lENT - ing to avoid capture.
TIME TO ABOLISH IT? Thirdly, erne lmportant factor which calls for
By the aboli!ion of the death penalty is that the
Ben Adam law is not infallible, There is no doubt at aU
that innocent people have been hanged for crimes
"AN EYE for an eye and a tooth for a tooth", tbey never committed. The irrevocabili:y of such
This is probably the sole argument that tbose a miscarriage of justice -is clear. and terrible;
who favour capital punishment can muster to the states of Maine and Rhode Island in the
strengthen '~heir case. Now that we are in the United S~ates abolished the death penalty upon
process of building a new nation, we have to discovering that they had murdered some inno·
turn our attention not only to economic, social cent people. In 1953 the British Home Secretary
and cultural reforms but also the abolition of admitted ·:hat an error had been made three
tbe death penalty in OUT criminal laws. The aim years previously when a man was executed for
of this article is to provoke public discussion on a crinle he denied. and which was later confess·
this major social issue: whether it is not yet ed to by another It is true that :his country
time to abolish capital punishment in Ghana. has never had such a shocking experience; but
What arguments can one put forward :0 sup- who is there among us who can say with coo tid·
port the abolition of the death penalty? Briefly five ence :.hat each of the people the State has hang·
arguments can be advanced. ed io our history committed the crime with
First. the proponents of capital punishment which he was charged?
maintain that one of the purposes of retaining Fourthly. is it 'lot true to argue that the State
it is to deter others from committing tbe same sets a bad example when it takes a life? The
crime. But several years of investigation by state takes :he place of the criminal in doing
sociologists and other interested grC'lups have to him that which it calls murder when he does
come to the conclusion that most murder cases it to another; this obviously removes the sanctity
involve people who have had no previous crimi· of life from our concern and brutalizes all society.
nal experience, and who commit the crime after Moreover, this legalized bloodletting may have
a violent quarrel or in the heat of passion, adverse, if not contagious. effects on the rest of us.
obviously without considering the consequences.
As for the professional criminals, they are likely
to be deterred by a long prison sentence as Limi.ts of Retaliation
by anything else. This in effect means that
capital punishment cannot be a deterrent, and Finally, capital punishment is based on the
the point is supported by a number of studies. law of retaliation. ~ex talionis. and those who
In ] 954, for insta'llce, the British government quote !he Scriptures to support their case should
appointed a Royal Commission to study capital be more circumspect. "An eye for an eye, and
punishment; af:cr extended hearings the Com· a tooth for a tooth", appearing ill both Exodus
mission concluded that tbere was no clear evid· and Deuteronomy, has been interpreted by
eoce tbat the abolition of tbe deatb pena]~y led Bible !icholars as indicating the limit of repay·
(0 an increase in the number of murders com· ment for any grievance as being the extent of the
miUed, or -!hat its retention led to a fall. grievance itself. It is merely a measure of evalua·
tion for compensation monetarily. Talmudic
Secondly. advocates of the death penalty
maintain that abolition would expose law enforce· scholars state, with unanimity. that the phrase
does not mean that because a life is ~ak€li1, the
ment people to considerable danger, and that
if a criminal knew that he would be hanged for life of the taker must be sacrificed as well.
killing a policeman he would think twice before In any case tbose who invoke the Biblical
using his gun, The argument states that the only injunc~ion to support capital punishment tend to
fear a criminal has in avoiding~e use of his forge that retribution is not within what is
gun against a policeman chasing him is that of regarded by Chris!ians as the divine plan: "Ven·
his own consequent execution. This has, however, geance is mine, saith the Lord~ I will repay".
Dot been the case in countries where the death Why should we arrogate to ourselves the legal
penal!)' has been abolished. For instance. in power to take away a life? The crime may be
Australia. the police themselves initiated a move as horrible as ODe can imagine, but are we sure
8 THE LEGON OBSERVER 30 January 1970
that in hanging a criminal the sodety is protect· somewhere in the s:reet in Ibadan. or on tbe
ed thereby? campus at the llnlverslty. or some other public
Many complex psychological emotions are place - we forgot which. and it doesn't matter.
responsible for making a person a murderer, and From the Cape to Cairo, from Dakar !o Nai-
it is the duty of the state and :he society at robi, and in Jamaica and Harlem and Rio and
large to find remedial solutions rather to kill Georgetown. wherever else the blackman lived,
such a person. The point is that there is much they went after her ... It got 50 bad that Dr.
more to it than lhe mere hanging of a murderer~ Azikiwe. then President of the tben Federal
the arguments marshalled in support of the death Republic of Nigeria. had to rescue the poor girl
penalty have not proved valid in the course of from her hunters by inviting ber to State House
:he history of mankind. As the "great awaken- and being gracious to ber publicly. And all
ing" catches on in the country, we should expect because Miss Michelmore had carelessly made
more vicious forms of crime: and we should public her private truth ....
begin to find more accepted ways of dealing Well. that truth is still here with us: black
with such crimes than merely hanging such Africa's cities and towns still lack. among other
criminals. just because this is the usual legal things, decent places of convenience for public
solution. use; so a large number of males, in Ghana
I am personally not convinced that capital especially, - one year old to 100 - u go to the
punishmrnt serves any useful purpose in our bathroom" in public. This is repeating Miss
society: it should therefore be abolished. Michelmore. but we do no~ expect to suffer ber
fate. We are part and parcel of the national
embarrassment. 1I0t aliens.
Observer Notebook
Containing Dubcek
Nuisance in the Streets POLITICAL regimes differ in the way they treat
their ideological "heretics". In some areas such
GHANA is quietly but visibly becoming an inter· deviants are incarcerated. often to the point
national scandal; any Ghanaian of responsibility when only !he will to survive sustains them.
who does not know it does not deserve his Milovan Djilas. tbe former vice·president of
responsibility . But then it is not possible that Yugoslavia. is a case in point. The extreme
any responsible citizen. let alone a responsible punishment of execution, through pressurized
official or functionary, can be unaware of or self·confessions to imaginary crimes. has also
insensitive to the problem of our primitive lack been adopted in cases when it is thought ~hat
of public toilet facilities and the public nuisance the very mention of the heretic's name would
that grows daily from this shortage. In plain continue to have a polluting influence on the
words. an appallingly fast rising number of males ideological puri:y of the living.
-. and little girls - are using :he streets of Thus. such human beings become «unpersoned".
Accra and every other town in Ghana as one A mere removal from political office. in the event
vast urinal. In open view of anybody! of a person's lJII'Ipopularity. is regarded as a
democratic ideal. But the varieties are many.
When the American Peace Corps girl, Miss and not all regimes regard the ballot as an
Michelmore, lost her famous postcard in Nigeria appropriate yards:ick for testing popular opinion.
some years ago and "won" a moment of world· Early this week, Mr. Alexander Dubcek, the
wide notoriety for her indiscretion, Africans - leader of the Czechoslovakia Communist Party
black people - everywhere wan~ed to chew her until Russia overthrew him in 1968. arrived in
head off. raw. Miss Michelmore's crime was not Istanbul to assume the office of· his country's
that she had maligned the African people by Ambassador in Turkey. His leadership, af!er the
accusing them of using "sidewalks". gutters. removal of Antoin Novotny. was sbortlived.
hedges. open fields. and beaches , to "go to the because in the Communist world a leader's
bathroom" - as they say in America and as popularity is determined not only by those he
she pu! it - but that she had been stupid rules direetly but· also - and more acutely --
enough to' have written her subsequently ' world .. by ·j)ose! who, many miles away,. determine the
shaking .. 'Letter~ from A(rka"-OO!' (ffi : open ~t~ lenor of id~~gicat soundness.. _ '. _ . __
card. and careie~s enough to have then-. lost;.it It is significl\lIt that bis ."despatch". bas c:o(. ,
30, January 1970 THE LEGON OBSERVER 9
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BOEING FAN JET LUXURY SERVICE TO
NAIROBI · ENTEBBE . DAR ES SALAAM
Finest In-flight Service
Duty-free shopping on board
INFORMATION and RESERVATIONS
111 Cocoa House, Liberty Avenue
P.O. Box: 3600. Accra Tel. 22356
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10 THE LEGON OBSERVER 30 Juuuy 1910
• incided with renewed speculations concerning 'I1Ie EIIII ., Ie c ' •
demands for a more humiliating treatment of SIa.-At lana last tho war in Ni&eria has COil- to _ ....
~be reformers. It is understood that the present There were many noo-NlacriaDs wbo took Ildea ill tbiI
premier. Mr. Cernik, is likely to be removed civil war. Thoup • few misht have bcm d1appoaalllld
soon. H his successor is chosen from among the that the war bu ended in the way it baa, it sbould COIDe
pro-Soviet hard-liners. it is likely that the govern- as a relief to all peace-loving people aU. over tho wodd
-that at leut the bloodshed on both sides sho,,1eI haw
ment would accede to a Cemtral Committee come to an end once and for all. Only • manilC' would
resolu!ion to begin trials of some sort. wish that the war sbould continue until it came out /til
way.
Gustav Husak is apparently being regarded as It is not neclCuary to rc-stalo the untold su1fcring and
too liberal. and ,s perhaps not to the total liking destruction the war has brouaht to the "giant of Africa".
of the Russians. His normalization policy is now However, a greater task rcmaim in the period of RCODI-
regarded as too soft. and ~oo slow. If Husak truction, rehabilitation, n::conciliation and re-mtegradon.
himself is removed. then onc can predict a It is definitely more difficult to repair than to destroy,
dangerous pro-Stalim. pro-Novotny revival. 1his and it is hoped that Africa and the world will go to tho
aid of Nigeria in her post-war reconstruCtiOD programme.
will obviously lead to morc political discontent But to win the peace also, General Gowan and his
and disquiet, until another round of "heretical" advisers should display a sense of tact and diplomacy.
reformism emerges. They must always be guided by what Lincoln told the
American nation in bis second inaugural address after
Husak and his present aides were, thus. not the end of the American Civil War, just over a ccntury
only playing diplomacy in tbeir removal of ago: ". . . With malice towards none, with charity for
Dubcek from the centre of political storm at all, let w ... bind up the nation's wounds ... and do ,II
borne. They probably had otber mo:ives for not which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace
among ourselves and with all nations".
completely exiling tbeir former leader. Although
Comrnomt'cultb Hall Abdal Ramrk El-A.J.wU
Dubcek is silenced presently. there is no doubt Leg ••
that bis many admirers will still hope for the
Hickering flames of liberty and freedom, if only
because a living Dubcek will be a better symbol On tbe Es:tindioa of the "Biafn. Republic"
and a more useful rallying point. SIR-The world seemed to have heaved a sigh of relief
when hostilities between Federal Nigeria and Eastern
Nigeria - heretofore k.nown as Biatra - came to an
end a few days ago. For thirty months tbe Ibo heartlaod
Letters was the vcnuo of one of Black Africa's most gory spec· tacles. And no doubt Lt.-Col. Effiong stands on a
higher pedestal, for it was he who (ironically?) dealt
the coup de grace which completed Gowan's dismember-
Trninio& "Our Intelleduals?" ment of the whole edifice constructed single-handed by
General Ojukwu.
SIR-The world seemed to have heaved a sigh of relief Very soon it will bo tbe turn of military oiHelVCfS,
tell the twelve directors of the International Association and chroniclers alike, to write volumes about tbe
for Cultural Freedom "that now that you are in Africa, Nigerian civil war - a phenomenon which was totally
we will be glad (or belp you give in the training of alien to the continent. Before that, however, [ think
our intellectuals", as reported in tbe Doily GraphiC it would not be out of place to offer some n post fado
(Accra) on 12tb January, 1970. rationalisations.
The initial exhibition of such unparaJled bDvado.
It would be very sad for some of w if be did. When bordering on jingoism on the part of Ojukwu seemed.
the Progress Party came into power, some of w tbougbt to bave instilled some fear into us. We thought be
that now we have a government that apparently has would be able to keep his "ship" on an even keel
confidence enough to end the racket of the so-called and thus lead to sure disintegration of Ni8eria. What
experts. We hoped tbat tbe real meaning of the inde- is more, we were concerned witb the number of people
pendence movement-self-assertion and self-reliance- who would have been killed (sinee if that had happened
will at last be translated into action. the war would have been bloodier than it was) But the
But if Dr. Busia said what he is reported to have manner in which the war ended ~ so unnoticea.bly -
done, tben tbe fulfilment.of these expectations looks seems to have left some doubts in our minda-
like being postponed. Is Ghana, tben, not to end its 1f Ojukwu was aware that anns and ammunition
tutelage even in matters tbat are part of our owo would not be forthcoming jUlt for the uking, ono
heritage? Is there no hope that we shall ever act as does not see the wisdom of hi, ernbarkinl on the war
men with our destiny in our own bands' in the first place. Or was it lack of military fon::siabt'
I sincerely trust the Daily Graphic misquoted the This factor therefore lends some mpport to Lt-CoL
Prime Minister. Effiong's pronouncement that 'ne Republic of Blafra
InstUule of AfricaD Studles lC.wame ArbiD bereby ceases to exi,t", for under tb"le cil'Q,\lDlbJlCel
Leg •• that was the molt sensible thins to do. (In any cue
30 January 1970 THE LEGON OBSERVER II
UNIVERSITY OF GHANA
Registrar's Offices
ADMISSION TO DEGREE COURSl!]S
IN OCTOBER 1970
Candidates wishing to he considered for admission to Degree Courses (other than in
Administration) of the University of Ghana should write for application forms which
should be completed and returned not later than 31st March, 1970.
Applications for admission to courses in Administration should be addressed separa-
tely to the Secretary. School of Administration. Legan.
To be considered for admission to the first year course, a candidate must:
(I) have obtained passes at Credit (or higher) level at the West African School
Certificate Examination or passes at the London General Certificate of Education
Examination (or an approved equivalent) in English Language and in at least four
(4) other subjects of which not less than THREE (3) must be at the Advanced
Level. At least one of the Advanced Level passes should be grade 'D' or above.
(In exceptional cases candidates who have taken three (3) Advanced Level subjects
at one and the same sitting and have obtained two (2) passes not below grade 'C'
may be considered for admission. provided they also satisfy the requirement in 2
below).
(2) have obtained a pass in the General Paper set by the West African Examinations
Council for Advanced Level candidates.
In addition. candidates shall be expected to satisfy the requirements of the particular
Faculties and Departments in which they wish to study. These requirements are outlined
in a pamphlet issued with application forms.
Candidates who hope to satisfy the minimum requirements at examinations to be
held in January or June. 1970 must also complete appUcation forms and return them not
later than 31st March, 1970. No late applications will be considered.
ENTRANCE EXAMINATION-LAW
The entrance examination for admission to the Law course will be held on Tuesday,
3 I st March at the GREAT HALL, LEGON.
NOTE (IMPORTANT)
1. Letters for application form must be addressed to the SENIOR ASSISTA NT RE-
GISTRAR (ACADEMIC), UNIVERSITY OF GHANA, P.O. BOX 25, LEGON, and
must be accompanied by a self·addressed foolscap envelope to which must be affixed
a 9 New Pesewa (9NP) stamp.
2. Forms will not be sent to appUcants who do not send stamped envelopes as indicated.
3. ~didates still in attendance at 6th Form Schools need not apply individually as f
will be sent to the Heads of all 6th Form Schools. orms
20TH JANUARY, 1970.
12 TIlE LEGON OBSERVER 30 January 1970
what could he (Effiong) haYe done with "home-made" the recommendations which the government bas alrady
land·mines?) accepted so far have been effectively implemented.
To Ojukwu, however, this "unconditional surrender" Adlimota F. C. E rfd.
would certainly appear as a betrayal of trust. Like
CbiDua Achehe's Okonkwo. he may be thinking that
the ,reat fire he lit has now been put out, lea\'rng AUens And Our PoliticiaN
only "cold, impotent ash". Meanwhile he has glJne, SIR - The rumour is fast gaining ground that some
leaving behind a tale of woc. of the aliens affected by the 'Compliance Order". in a
As put by the "International Herald Tribune" of 12th last minute effon to secure residence pennits. are "buy.
January, 1970. " ... the problem before Nigeria. as ing" our big men with large sums of money. P.::maps
before so many other African states. is to make a there is no substance in this rumour. May be i( has
nation out of the tribal miscellany which was one of been maliciously set in motion by some irresponsible
imperialism's dangerous legacies to the continent'". The individuals. and probably calculated to discredit our
ovclWhelming question then is. can "statesmanship political leaders. Whoever invented this distllrbing
conquer tribalism" in Nigeria? TUmour has done more than enough to produce ~ cloud
Gowan seems to have started the task of reintegra· upon the horizon of politics in Ghana, which our big
tion welJ (except that he is lamenting over the fact men have to work very, very fast 10 dissipate.
that "the birds have flown"). All the world will be But, in the light of the circumstances which led to
watching and praying, and if he is able to do just the fall of Nkrumah and the honourable resignation of
that, we shall be beholden to him indeed! General Ankrab, we refuse to reject Lhe rumour as
Legon Hall Felix A. Asiedu wholly untrue. It does not serve any useful purpose.
in the ligbt of all that went wrong 10 the First Republic,
to listen to official denials. This time we want the
The Nigerian War
actions of our big men to speak louder and dearer
SIR - With the cessation of hostilities and formal th'an their words.
surrender by Biafra. the gruesome war in Nigeria has Tberefore. the best. safest and most effective way of
ended. The Federal leader has announced a general killing this objectionable rumour is to enforce the
amnesty for the Easterners. Whether subsequent ~vents controversial order to the letter. After aU, the majority
will demand a qualification of the amnesty is a matter of Gbanaians suppan its enforcement. It is pra-.
of detail. bably true that most people see some signs of weak-
Meanwhile, U Thant has counselled the display of mag· ness on the part of the government about this order.
nanimity in victory; the Vatican has also advised that If our big men want to remain in their present posi·
there should be no genocide; and the French Premier tions of responsibility. they should not do anything
has spoken of the need for massive relief supplies for that will cost them the continued respect and admira·
the victims. tion of the govemed.
There are now millions of people in Nigeria who Commonweallb Hall OI,...og·Manu
are sick, hungry and maimed for life. It will take years Lego.
to rehabilitate them. Th'ese are the tears of yesterday.
It is hoped that reconciliation in Nigeria would mean
an honest and meaningful integration of the conquered. Mi~iouary Sebools and Liberalism
They must be made to realise that the future of Nigeria
depends on all the tribes and not on some tribes alone . SIR-"The taking over of an institution", says Mr. Frim·
The fear of insecurity and any form of humiliation pong, "does not in any way imply penalizatiofl" BUI
must be eliminated. some scbools, as well as countries, think the loss of
The problem may be "beyond Biafra" but the solution independence something to be avoided . .+o aUow an
is to be sought inside Nigeria. The challenge of national educator or a missionary to open a school and go his
reconstruction Ues on the statecraft and the ingenuity own way is one thing which liberal Western countries
of the Nigerians themselves. do and which totalitarian countries do not.
Commonwealth Hall Legoo Daphne Heretfaro
Lego.
Obutooi Muutu and African Ideology
Implementing Commissions of Enquiry Reports
SIR - May I suggest that Oburoni Muntu's important
SIR - Immediately after the coup. there were organi. articles on African Ideology be reprinted as , pam-
zations, corporations, and individuals ca1l.ing for probes phlet?
and commissions of enquiry into certain sectors of
Ha"ing recently seen a Ghanaian girl buffeted and
our life and our economy. apart from those which
the N.L.a deemed necessary to instit'ute. Many of abused at 11 bus station because she could not .weak the
language of the drivers, I was reminded of the dangers
these commissions finished their work and handed.
in their findings in less than a year. Most of their which lie not so far beneath the .mrface in many parts
of Africa.
recommendations were duly accepted.
I would suggest that Kontopiaat's phrase, "the revival
It is believed that some people who were to answer of cultural and regional solidarity, or as it is popularly
questions at the commissions of enquiry managed to but most erroneously, terme<l. the ,revivaJ of tribalism".
run away from Ihis country. In the name of justice, appear on the title page.
therefore, I call on the government to stop all probes P .0, Box S6 K. B. FOlIe
and commissions of enquiry until such a time that Altooa SwOOru
•
3U January 1971l THE LEGON OBSERVER 13
UNIVERSITY OF GHANA
Registrar's Offices
ADMISSION TO :NON-DEGREE COURSES
IN OCTOBER, 1970
Candidates wishing to be considered for admission to Non-Degn:e Courses (olb~r than those. of
the School of Administration) in tbe University of Ghana should wnte for application fonns which
should be completed and returned not later tban 18th February, 1970. The faUowing Non-Degree
Courses will be available in October. 1970.
t. LICENTIATE IN THE STUDt OF RELIGIONS
A two-year course for persons who possess a good education and at least five (5) years' expe-
rience in the teaching of Theology. .
(The entrance examination will be held on Friday, 3td Apnl, at the Great Hall, Legon).
2 CERTIFICATE IN SOCIAL ADMINISTRATION
A two-year course intended primarily (or candidates sponsored by tbe Ministry 0.£ Social Welfare
and Community Development. Candidates must have had a good general education plus at least
five years experience in Social work.
(Applicants to be sponsored by the Ministry of Social Welfare should apply for application fo~s
to the Director of Social Welfare and Community Development, P.O. Box 778, Accra . Other apph.
cants should indicate the Organisations or Departments which will sponsor tbem).
(The entrance examination will be held on Thursday, 2nd April al tbe Great Hall, Legan)
3. DIPLOMA IN DRAMA AND THEATRE STUDIES
A three.year course for persons who POS!tCss either the minimum entry qualifications for admi-
ssion to a degree course, or tbe Ghana Post-Secondary Teachers' Certificate (or its approved
equivalent), or the Certificate in Drama and Theatre Studies of tbe University of Ghana.
(fhe date for the entrance examination wiU be announced later)
4 GENERAL DIPLOMA IN MUSIC
A three-year course for persons who possess a certificate of proficiency in tbe rudiments of music
(advanced or final) of an approved institution, or its equivalent
(fbe date for tbe entrance examination will be announced later).
5. DIPLOMA IN AFRICAN MUSIC
A two-year course for persons wbo have obtained a music diploma of an approved Institution or
have done the specialist music course of the Ghana Ministry of Education.
(fbe date for the entrance ex-amioatioo will be announced later) .
6. DIPLOMA IN DANCE
A three-year course for persons wbo have :
(a) obtained the General Certificate of Education or the Teachers' Certificate 'A' and passed an
aptitude test in dance;
OR
(b) passed a special entrance examination m English, African Dance Forms and Oance Notation;
OR
(cl obtained the Certificate in Dance of the University of Ghana or its approved equivalent
(The date fo r the entrance exammation Will be announced later).
7. DIPLOMA IN NURSING EDUCATION
A two-year course designed to prepare State Regis tered Nurses fo r positions in teachtng or
administration and supervision in Hospitals, schools of nursing, midwifery schools and puhlic
healt~ agcncics Candidates must have had at least three (3) years satisfactory post-registration
expenencc . It would be of advantage to the candidates to have had previous experience in the
clinical area in which tbey intend to work upon completion of the programme.
(~pplicants to be. sponso~d by the Ministry of Health should apply (or application fonns to the
Director of Medical Servtces, (Manpower and Training Division), Ministry of Hcalth P .O. 80'(
M.44 Accra . Other applicants sbould indicate the Organisation::. or Departments which' will spon-
'ior them).
(!be date for the entrance examination will be announced later)
8 CERTIFICATE IN DRAMA AND THEATRE STUDIES
CERTIFICATE IN MUSIC
CERTIFICATE IN DANCE
These courses have been suspended for the time being.
NOTE (IMPORTANT)
1. utters for application forms must be addressed to the SENIOR ASSISTA NT REGISTRAR
(ACADEMIC). UNIVERSITY OF GHAN~ , P.O . BOX 25, LEGON. and must be accomparned
by a seU-addressed fool~p envelope (0 which must be affixed a 9 New Pesewa (9NP) stamp
2. Applicants m~t 5tate which particular ~urse$ tbey intend to pursue ,
3. PersoD..1 I.pplymg for Qlore tha~ one course must scnd a separate envelope for each cou~
4 Forms Will not be scnt to applicants who do not send stamped envelopes as indicated .
20TH MNUARY, JV10.
14 THE LEGON OBSERVER 30 lanuary 1970
"b (hrl!tmas For ChristlaD5?" mystery. The centre of this festival Is simplicity: a
baby poorly housed amona: the kindly animals. bec:aUII
SIR - In view of the constantly printed "Observer there was no room at the inn for his parents who
Notice" (which. indeed, appears at the foot of the had travel~ed far. The mystery of bi.rth, the uncertainty
very article to which 1 refer), 1 was astounded to <;cc that of travel 10 search of the unknown - these Sf"C i.deas
you expended four (ul1 columns of valuable space on the human spirit must keep ali.ve or it will perish in
a rather undergraduate-level catena of references to a morass of materialistic complacency.
mainly secondary sources (and very repetitious ones It seems to me that the shepherds and wise men
at (hat)-all to prove what any reasonably well-read offered worship and gifls because they thougbt they
person knew already, namely that the Christmas festival bad found the Creator of the Universe, symbolised in
is not Christian in origin. a human baby. The glitter of tinsel in bomes or
The question as to whether or not the church should lighting t.he dark streets in windows of !:bops on' the
embrace indigenous cultures and attempt to express the ~arth, str~\'es to reflect the glitter of the eternal stan
Gospel message through them is a much more interesting m the mght sky. The giving of gifts by one pcrsoa
and open one (though mosl modem Christians would or many reflects tbe gift of life itself and the unstintinl
an.swer it. in principle at least, in the affirmative), but abundance of creation. The creche reminds us of the
tbIS aspect of the matter is simply swept aside by the need to care for the weak and helpless, because out
writer. with the implicit assumption thal such cultural of such a small, humble beginning may come :til that
adaptation can never be justified. makes the future worth hoping for: Peace on Earth
In view of the abundant and really first-class material and Goodwill among men.
avai1a~le to you (witness L.O. Vtr), might we Along with the disappointments, the jealous rivalries.
not, Sir, be spared such trivial chatterings? By all means the c.'~ccsses of eating, drinking and spending which
let us have occasional serious discussions on religious do often spoil the pristine innocence of the Christmas
matters, such as Dr. Gaba's article, but not the red festival - as well as worse things such as are done
herrings of a crank, which may sound "topical" but will in places: where there is cruelty and war - there is
only confuse the less well-read and bore those who always this message given in church senices. carols.
might otherwise be interested in religious discussion. on cards and stamps, and in new ways of expressing
I am, Sir, a devoted and normally appreciative reader old truths by art or literature, a message which helps
of your paper. to strengthen the peoples' determination to make the
SUDDybank, High Street (Revd.) J. D. Ferguson coming New Year a better one than the last bas b:en.
Whealley. Oxford If hopes of better things wear thin as the year grows ---- older, there is then the next Christmas season to look.
forward to, and prepare for.
An Englishwoman's View of ChristmruJ Oxford. England Lila Gough
SIR - Mr. King Osafo, in his letter in the Legon
Observer for the 19th December (LO. IV/26) says that The Watch Tower Propbeclee
thc average Ghanaian is tormented and confused about
wha~ to do during the Christmas season. He says SIR - Max Assimeng's article on Jehovah's Witnesses
Cbrlstmas should have a new meaning. Would you (L.O. V/2) made interesting reading. The Jehovah'.
a.now an average Englishwoman to try to explain a Witnesses are pessimists. They are always prophesizina
httle of what this traditional religious and secular feast the end of the world. Once. the time was 1952; then
means to older people in this country? this was shifted to 1959. Today the "probable date"
In Northern countries where the winters ,uc long, is 1975. I would not be surprised if, after 1975, the
dark and cold. the preparations for Christmas oller a "probable date" were "postponed" again to 2000 A.D.!
reason and an incentive for fighting the depression and They think that they alone will be saved when the
gloom of the late autumn and winter by preparations baUle of Armageddon is fought on this earth! They
for cburch services and for feasting, conviviality, the could as well refuse to live as they have refused to
exchange of visits, letters, cards and presents with carry out one of their civic re~ponsibilities - the
friends or relatives living at home or abroad but not responsibility to vote.
seen _ perhaps hardly tbought of - during th'!: other Commonwealth Han Erasmu!l Doaalas-DjarlxOl
eleven months of the year. Many people, some of them Lego_
unfortunatelY disabled or handicapped, are -=mployed
for months before 25th December in preparing the
gifts. decorations, special Christmas numbers and The Significance of Guru Nanak
programmes, so that the rest of us could h·we a glori- SIR _ The 500th birthday celebration of one of the
ously free spending time buying or making special food greatest spiritual leaders of India was observed on tho
and drink and in preparing gaily wrapped presents. 23rd November 1969 all over lndia and in many
This is not necessarily done in an excess of greed parts of the world. This great saviour waa Guru Nanalt
but with an abundance that warms the memory of (1469-1539), founder of Sikhism. a religion of the Sikhs
those who bave participated, through the bleak days of India. Although in the beginning his meSSl\@:C waf
of January and February till Spring comes with a confined to India, it bas today .pread to many pal1l
promise of wanner days and the completed growth of of tho world. Hi. mC5SaaCl bas helped his true devotees
Howers, trees, fruits of the earth. For the churches: the to realize that God is a living God who can really
birth of Christ is followed by the austerity of Lent, be experienced. His messllO was c:elltred. around God"
the Crucifixion and finally the Resurrection. FrJr those realization and the brotherhood of an men.
who have had a .religious upbringinl. or who arc still The OlrUtian may cast a suplcious eye on Sikhia:
in touch with children, it is a reminder of secure and "Ca_ .nythinl good __ ~ (lWlial? AN
happy days when the air tingled with excitement and
30 January 1970 THE LEGON OBSERVER
15
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J6 THE LEGON OBSERVER 30 January J970
they not magicians? Arc they not worshippers of idols?" concerns in a tongue Dol their own but which ill •
His Christian religion is, he belie .... es. the only edigion complicated vebid~ of powerful commllnic:atioa.
that can Jead one to God. This is also the belief of Within the works, then. lies a certain tension DOt of
the adherents of other religions. the writer's own making, but cbantc:tcrising his wbolo
But Guru Nanak and others who were greatly enligh- being, It cou1d be the UDSUrC Mr. Jaaabir in Edpr
tened. and were adepts on matters concerning eternal Mittelho1zcr's A Morning tU 'he Of/ice who does DOt
life. never condemned religions. In our own Christian know his position in contemporary Trinidad Society
religion, it has taken us years Lo reason and realize in the urban, commercial world of Port of Spain; or
that divisions and fanaticism among us are all signs of any of Chinua Achebe'$ heroes, or the tensions in aU
immaturity of the mind, and now we wish tacorne the poets such as Edward Brathwaite of Barbados and
together. The Catholic is now beginning to know that the late Christopher Okigbo of Nigeria. or such drama-
the Protestant is his brother. and vice versa. The root tists as Wole Soyinka and Ama Ata Aidoo.
cause of all this misunderstanding is ignorance. One They arc all extremely sensitive, sensible human
may think one knows everything but there may be beings who set out to examine the human condition
something else one docs not know. in their own tenos. These terms comprise their total
It is hoped that the future generations will come to experience whieh is their world. Their world is not
realize the unity of purpose in all religions, and follow the narrow confines of the islands or the continenti
the example of Guru Nanak. but also Ihe contributions, positive as well as negative.
P. O. BOI 44 J. E. Boafo Adu of the West. And as they grapple with the languap
Asamaokese they arc like the phoenix creating a new dimension
of the language.
Book Review Gerald Moore shows an acute awareness of the undercurrents of innuenees that go to make the various
fonos of literature what they are. For examp1e, the
poetry of George Awoonor-Williams becomes more
mE OIOSEN TONGUE meaningful if the Ewe situation in Gbana·Togo is
by Gerald Moore (Loogmam. 1969) well known. Another important quality of this work.
Reviewed by is the realisation of the verbal art traditions which
E. Ofori Akyea inform the literature. These need fuller critical treat·
ment, however, than has been done i.n the present
A FEW years back. it became fashionable to "discover" work. The section on Okigbo shows the kind of
African or Carribean literature. How many of the seriousness with which such an important but difficu1t
"brave" adventures really brought back any spoils poet should be dealt with, rather than the wishy·
worthy of note can be counted on the fingertips; washy kind of stuff which passes for critical notice
Gerald Moore is in the group of tbe cbosen few. these days.
This is a book which critically reviews the literature This study obviously could not go farther than it
of the two areas, of Africa and the Carribean. The did; the area is vast and needs massive treatment.
rationale of the book IS very clearly set out in the But the attempt is worthy, in that a consistent critical
introduction. analysis is made which will lead to a more meaning·
The central problem of the book is to elucidate, or ful understanding of this fascinating literature. It
try to say, what constitutes the stuff of .the .litera~re could also be the starting point of any cour.;e on
of these two areas, which have strong, hlStoncal hnks Carribcan and African literature written -in the English
dating back to the years of slavery. Then the qu~s. language.
lion of the way English usage by these non-natlVe
speakers bas improved the language is posed .a~ a
Ic&d-on from the first. The author also scrutinises
the cultural texture of the persons in thcse two areas. Miscelloneous
But when the scrutiny deals in a consistent manner
with the concerns that tum out to be what is culture,
seen through literary eyes, the cnQuiry assumes real WHO IS A GHANAJ..\N?
meaning outside of othcr considerations. by
The literature of these areas of the English speak· Kwadwo Kontopiaat
ing world is normally seen in lenos of the colonial
situation z.nd what it has given to or taken from IN accordance with the New Year resolutions of
the people. Moore's enquiry goes deeper than that. myself and the people of Kontopiaatkrom. I was not
By a judicious selection of written work which t~ ~o to be heard again for at least six months. However.
give a n::wour of the plaee treated in the most artistic a delegation from the krom came to sec me a few
manner the liter:l.ry story of the areas unfold. days ago and told me that such have been the revolu-
Ther~ arc no apologies offered about the liternture; tionary findings made by the Historical Society of
eaeh individual work of art is critically exa.min~ as Kontopiaatkrom, H.5.K., about the whole question
to what it says. Thus he says that although ~~I.p~l, of aliens that I was in duty hound to bring them to
for example, is a good writer, his ~ery senslblhl~es the attention of the Minister of Yntcrior, in particular,
make it impossible for him ~o ?pprecla~e th~ esscn~lal and the whole Ghanaian public in general. On the
f being a West Indian. ThIS IS a wnter confusmg eve of my dcpanure for my six-months.plus ambas·
o ely "" .... onal re,'eetion with a historical fact"_ sadorial course, I have to comply with the request of
a. pur r~"· .. h r I
\Vbat emerges then is a dchneatlOn o! .t e essen la my people.
life style of these people who feel n~ spln~al beton~. The first discovery is that the demand for the
ing to the West, nnd yet have to gl\'e VOice to their repatriation of Syrians, Lebanese and other aliens caa
30 January 1970 THE LEGON OBSERVER
17
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18 TIlE LEGON OBSERVER 30 January 1910
be traced as far back as the 19205; to be specific, to It seems clear from the investigations that the Ga
the inauguration of the National Congress of British (wbo constitute 8% of the population of Ghana); the
West Africa. At this i.naugural meeting, held in Accra Abo. who form 45%); the Mamprussi. Dqomba.
from 11 th to 29th March, 1920, the Congress adopted Gonja and Nanumba, (who together (ann 16%); and
a number of resolutions. One set of these was entitled the Ewe. (who are 11%,) arc not Ghanaians at all, i.e. •
"Alien problems with particular reference to the Syrian indigenous people (If this soil! Even a Ga child will
Question". and ~o relevant are these resolutions that tell you that the Ga migrated to where they are now
J have been ordered by the President of tbe H.S.K. to from Benin. And this is confirmed by the great histo-
quote tbem verbatim, and in full: rian. C Carl Rcindorf himself.
(I) That in the opinion of this Conference the All the Ewe maintlin that they came from Nuatji or
Aboriginal inhabitants of the several Colonies Nuachi, which is now in Dahomey, and that they are
of British West Africa are not "Aliens" or brothers and sisters of the Fan of Dahomey and of
"Foreigners" to one another, and [the Conference] the Yoruba of Nigeria, and have nothing in common
advocates the avoidance of discriminatory Ordi~ with any so·called Ghanaian!
nances in tbat relation, and pledges itself to make The Mamprusi, the Dagomba and the Nanumba.
representations at the proper quarter for the and incidentally the Massi of Upper Voita, also say
repeal of aoy such existing Ordinances; that they came into Ghana somewhere from the east,
(2) That the time has arrived for the introduction possibly from Northern Nigeria under the leadership
of Immigration Laws thIoughout British West of a Red Hunter called Tohajiye. (Beware Mr. Minister
Africa so as to keep out undesirable aliens; of Interior!) Certainly, the Kusasi would be the first
(J) That this Conference, having heard the views of people to tell you that the Mamprusi arc aliens! The
1'ts members on the "Alien Problem with parti- people of Gonja. on the other hand, are fully convinced
cular reference to the Syrian Question", is of that they are Mandingoes (or present-day Malians) and
opinion that the Colonial Office should be ap- Nigerians, not Ghanaians; and that they came into
proached with the view of considering whether Ghana only during the second half of the si:~teenth
lhese Syrians are not undesirables and a menace century as a group of warriors under their leader
to the good Government of the land, and, con- Ndewura Jakpa. from the region of the ancient em·
sequently. should not be repatriated from the pires of Mali and Songhai!
West :,Vrican Colonies". The Akan, constituting as they do the largest single
(Ref: National Congress of British West Africa, ethnic and cultural group in this country, are none·
Resolutions of the Conference of Africans of theless, the most enigmatic as far as their origins are
British West Africa held at Accra, Gold Coast, concerned, They include the Asante, Akyem. Kwahu,
from 11th to 29th March, 1920.) Akwapem. Agona, Gomua, Fante, Assin, Wassa, Twifo,
1 am ordered to inform my readers that this particular Nzima, Sefwi, Gyaman and Bono peoples. Some of the
meeting was attended by six representatives from Ni- Akan are absolutely certain that they migrated into
geria, three from Sierra Leone, one from Gambia, and modern Ghana from ~s rar as Mesopotamia, the area
over forry from Ghana, and that. the following officers of the Tigris and Euphrates., through Egypt. Othen;
were elected: contend that they originated from Ethiopia. Many of
President: Thomas Hutton Mills them insist that they came from ancient Ghana or the
Vice-President: J. E. Casely Hayford region of the Niger bend, while some sections of them.
Joint $.!cretaries: Dr. F. V. Nanka-Bruce for example the Asebu, are in no doubt at all that
L. E. V. M 'Carthy they came from the sea. under the leadermip of Asebu
[from Sierra Leone, but later Amanfi,
domiciled here in Ghana and Now, the same Akan people are divided into clans,
still very much alive] seven or eight of them, and each of these clans has its
Joint Treasurers: A. B. Quartey.Papafio own story of origin. The Bretuo clan, for instance. say
H. Van Hein. they descended from the sky - or is it the moon?
The Congrec;.s certainly failed to persuade the Colo· -by a silver chain at Ahensan in Adansi; the Ascnee
nial Offiee to implement this policy, and, far from say they came from a bead called Berewua; the Oyoko
being repatriated, the Syrian and alien communities clan, the clan to which not only the Kings of Dwaben,
who started emigrating into West African countries in Kokofu, Nsula and Dekwai, but also the Asantehene
the 1890's grew in numbers with the years. In French himself, belong insist that they came from a hole in
West Africa alone - we could not find the figures Asumenya Asantemanso, near Lake Bosumtwe, So you
for British West Africa - the number of Lebanese sec. 80% of the Ghanaians sav they came either from
rose from 28 in 1897 to 276 in 1900, 1,110 in 1909, and modem Nigeria or Egypt or Ethiopia or Mali. or from
over 3,000 by 1929. The Historical Society of Konto- the sky or from a hole in the ground or from the sea.
piaatkrom is (ully convinced that both the dead and The question then is: since these people say they
the Jiving members of the Congress are watching the came from somewhere outside the territorial limits of
recent developments with keen interest; they are won- present-day Ghana or from a hole, are they aliens or
dering if their resolutions will be fully implemented. not? If they are not aliens, how tong does a non-
The second finding, or rather issue, raised by the Ghanaian have 10 live in this country to qualify to be
investigations of K.H.S. is the fascinating one of who a full Ghanaian - 1,000. or 500, or 100, or 50 or 10
in fact a Ghanaian is, The facts or fictions unearthed years? This is the question ] have been asked to put
as a result of this research are truly disturbing. It to the Minister of Interior.
would appear from it that only about 15% to The answer is crucial, for there are some people
20% of the present population of Ghana are truly who certainly clail'll that they are autochthonous. Dr
Ghanaiansl How come? How come indeed!! indigenous. The auan say tbey have been livinc here
30 January 1970 THE LEGON OBSERVER 19
from lime immemorial, and that when the Akan and The first to thrill forth
the Ga cam:: they were occupymg the forcst and c03.stal Flaming young lo .. c
areas under their leaders the Ataalas. And the Guan With knowing touch
of today afC the Efutu of Winneba, the Senya of FlOm your never-before-delighted
~en}a Ilrcku. the Kycrcpong and Lartch of Akwapem, Bamboo slcndernl!ss,
the B050 and ihc Anum across the Volta, and the Kofi Brolli
Nchumuru people. The Kusasi, the Vagalu, the ~isala,
the Dngarti, the Tarnpoiensi, the Konkomba, and the
Chamba also claim that they arc autochthonous and
were occupying Northern Ghana long before the Mam· News Summary
prussi. the Dagomba. the Nanumba and the Gonja
came.
Now. I hope I have been 3blc to convince you that Accra January 21
the question. who is a Ghanaian, is really urgent EXlortion [rom Aliens
and I have been asked to call upon the Minister of A WARNING was issued yesterday to all Ghanaians by
Tnterior to answer it as soon as possible. I have been Mr. Kweku Baah, Ministerial Secretary to the Ministry
further instructed to warn him that if he fails to gil'e of Interior, to cease and desist from extorting money
a satisfactory answer, he may find himself being sent back from aliens under the pretcxt of be lping tbem to obtain
to either Mali or Niger by the Konkomba and tbe Ku- residence permits. Mr. Baah warned that anyone caught
:-03si: his Ministerial Secretary may be returned to in such nefarious practices would "feel the full weight
either Mesopotamia or Egypt or Ethiopia by the Guan. of the law" as it would be brought to bear on bim,
while the Prime Minister himself and the Ministers of Mr. Baab added, inter alia, that the government had
Agriculture, Finance, Trade and even Foreign Affairs no intention wbatsover of touching the property of any
may all have to re-enter that hole near the lake, or join departed aliens, but that neither could they sit by un-
one of the Apollo crafts to the moon! ! concerned if departing aliens afe taking away with them
Finally. this is really my swan-song, at least [or large stocks of essential food items like sugar, milk,
the next six months. If I am able to go through my flour and sardines. whieh had been originally imporleu
ambassadorial training. and if the Americans or the with hard-earned foreign exchange.
Russians do make it, then you may next hear from
me from Mars. But these are big ifs! Adieu, my Freetown January 21
readers. Sierra Leone into Republic?
PREMIER Siaka p, Stevens yesterday asked parliament
POEM: to set up a commission which would sound public
Atcnteben opinion about a republican fonn of constitution for
Ghanaian flute. bamboo-born; Sierra Leone, which attained independence as a dominion
FrcS'hly cut, you leave on my lips within tbe Commonwealth in 196\ and in 1967/68 wenl
The burnt taste of pl:!ntain (not too ripe) through the experience of three rapid coups.
Picked by quick fingers Ann January 21
From hot weldml!sn. on lop of the coal po!. C::&scl) Male Retires
'You draw from my fingertips MR , Casely Mate, the Ghanaian director of planning
(Tapping the rhythm, and financing of education under UNESCO, has retired
White fingers over black holes) and been succeeded by an American, William Platt,
The dance of fertility. previously in charge of research at the International
Skipping. knees bent, over led laterite. Institute for Educational Planning.
Pointing you back .Ii your mother Accra January 22
Who conceived you in rain, Ibos Demand Safeguards
Hore vou, a finger .)f green ,
yOIl daily GHANA'S lbo community arc demanding guarantees of NO\lri~hcd
To wind·swaying maturity: safety and protection of life and property from the
Federal Nigerian Government and friends of former
Till your maker came. Bidra, before they can consider the question of re-
Cut the stem, turning home to what is now the South Eastel::1 State
Carried )'OU off to hiS hut of Nigeria. Speaking to reporters here today, Mr, B.
To ell:erci.9C ancient skil1s Emordi, who claims to be the official spokesman of
On your severed member: the Ghana Ibo community, said it would be "foolhardy"
Trimming your tallness. for an Ibo to return home now without such safe-guards,
Slowly immersing the red-hot Iron
Selien times. pierCing your fmooth Oanks Paris .January 1:2
In positions traditional:
Cutting the lip, Mrs. Dusia Entertained
TilE wife of tbe Ghanaian Prime Minister
Inlertina the wedge ,
M."-, N aa.
Morko.r Busia, was tbe guest of honour at a dinner given
To .eal all but a slit
last. mght by Ghana's Ambassador to France, Mr.
To appl)' crad.,ed lips and gnarled fingers Pa~nck Seddoh, for ber and the Gbanaian party inaugu-
To your tuneleS! virginity:
Trying you: playing you. ratl?g the first regular air service between Accra and Pans.
20 THE LEGON OBSERVER 30 January 1970
Printed by the Liberty Pres~ Lld .• for the Leaon So,,;ety on National Affain. Chairman 01 Editorial Cumm/llte: K. A. B. Jm":~'Quutey:
Editor: J. M Au,mena: Assiuon' Editors: Kwame Arhin and A K. P. K1udle. ]',taru,n-: J. M . Hy.Je: Bu$lntu S«:r~ruy: K,,:ame Adie,
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P.O. Box II , Leaon. Chaml. Licence No. NP/388/IOS,
r
server
Vol. V No.4 13 - 26 February 1970 Price 15np
I. THIS ISSUE EDl rDR/AL
TOWARDS ECONOMIC INDEPENDENCE
THE DREVICI VIRTIJALLY all the countries in the Thi rd World have had the common experience of achieving political independence
without adequate economic substance. Not only were their
economics tied to the apron strings of those of their metro-
AFFAIR politan countries. The initial poverty of these countries and
their apparent complacency in their poverty. were such that.
in the absence of an ability to generate investment capital
and entrepreneurial ability locally. resort had to be had to
foreign investors. .
EDITORIAL •• I
But this riddle did not become insoluble. for. in the
Towards Economic Independence
heat of nationalistic expression. some of the countries. on
TIlE LAW J independence. have had to abrogate some of the trade and
financial agreements which. they thought. had been entered
The Need for Legal Aid In Ghana
Kwamc Afreh ioto on the level of unequal partnership; others have sougbt
to revise the terms of such agreements: an extreme response
1HE ECONOMY s to this situation has been the confiscation of foreign capital
The National Service Corp.! and foreign business interests aitl')gether.
1. L. P. Abbey
Whatever the shade of political colouring. and without
AFRICA 8 ignoring the inteJll1ationally recognized laws of contract. the
countries in this category of development can no longer
Biafra: The PolitiC! of Relief Agencies
E. O(ori Akyea refuse to heed the surging passionate calls for social and
economic justice which their citizens clamour for. It is in
TRIBUTE 10 this respect that the vital areas of economic activity are
said to be better handled by public institutions who take
Bertrand Russell: 1872 - 1970
J. E. Wircdu their policy direction from the national governments. instead
of private business manipulators blackmailing the nations
OBSERVER NOTEBOOK on the basis of these nations' financial 2fld economIc 14 insecurity.
ConOictin, Statements on Public Policy
The Arrolance of Power The termination by the Ghana government, on 30th
Ex-Public Officers and Patriotic Duty January 1970. of its contracts with the Drevici group of
J The Ghanaianisation Process companies. must b~ seen in the light of the foregoilflg. The
Student's Death at Sarbah Hall legal implications of the tenninatton of the contract arc
The 9th Annual Festival of Arts
The Civilian Coup in Lesotho said to be before the courts of law, and we do not intend
to make any careless. premature intrusion into these. Our
LEIJERS 18 immediate concern. while waitmg for more facts. is on the
Africa', Unstable Governments? politics. economics. and ethics of the government's decision.
Meddlin& with Mass Media? And it is in these areas that several questions begin to stand
Financinl National Service Corps out clearly,
Foreign Banks and their Employees
Nileri., Biafra and the Relief Problem Although Drevici is not Savundra. the persuasiveness
Repairing Cars at R. T. Briscoe of the government's argument. regarding the corrupt part
of the Drevici complex. deserves considerable recall if only
BOOK REVIEW 19 because Savundra. too, once tried a gigantic investment hoax
Volta. Man', Gratcst Lake which, in this country, remained still-born but opened the
Rcvicwro by Fin Hesae eyes of Ghanaians as to tbe comparative dhics of business
"'EWS SUMMARy 21 coo=.
2 THE LEGON OBSERVER 13 February 1970
The vital part of the government's statement
intimates that the Drevici contracts were The Law
tainted and vitiated by improper and illegal
gifts. inducements. and rewards, given by
tbe representatives of the Drevici Group of THE NEED FOR LEGAL AID IN GHANA
Companies to employees. servants or agents By Kwame Afreh
of the previous Govemmoots of Ghana for
IN any discussion on legal aid one is likely tu
doing. or forbearing to do, acts in relation
encounter a great deal of confusion, ignorancc
to the obtaining or execution of such
and prejUdice about the maUer. Why should the
contracts. state pay for the defence of thieves. rogues,
One would want to have a CQunter·statement to bullies. spivs and cut-throats? Why shuuld
this blunt piece. Until tben, one is bound to ask: public money be spent on private litigation
Why did the Drevici contract continue to operate. between individuals? .. These are the sort of
when an N .L.e. investigation committee had questions people ask whenever one argues for
recommended that the working of the agreement the introduction of a comprehensive legal aid
was improper? Who were the recipients of the system in this country.
illegal presents which enabled the Drevici It is not only laymen who display this atti-
complex to continue its activities when these were tude; there are even lawyers who do Dot under·
known to he of no viable economic value to the stand why persons should be given legal aid.
nation? How was it possible for the Drevici One remembers with regret and sorrow the un-
group to incorporate, in particular, the running fortunate statement of the late Sir Arku Korsah.
of the Inter-locking Industrial Complex and the who. when rejecting an application by Telko
Cocoa Processing and Chocolate Complex with- Tagoe and others, in the first treason trial in
out reference to the Ghana Government? And. this country, said the state was not bound to
if the government did [lot know of this alleged give legal aid to a person accused of an offence
breach of promise on the part of the Drcvicis against itseU. His Lordship forgot that if ever
until now. then whose fault was it? there was need for legal aid it was in a treason
trial. where the accused is standing trial for his
Cocoa is the crucial life-line of the nation's life on what is essentially a political charge.
economy; flour and food processing of any sort
form indisputable items of our internal consump- Common Law Requirewcnt
tion. It is. therefore. sound politics not to allow Thcre need 1I10t be any such confusion about
the necessity for legal aid for those who do nol
these and other vital areas of our economy to be
have the means to obtain legal assistance. The
juggled with by foreign firms who have regard need has been recognised for a long time by
only for their profits. and for their local corrupt the common law. For over two centuries judges
corroborators. in England have had power to assign counsel
to defend the indigent accused persons. Pro~
We are not unmindful of the various "growth ceedings fonna pauperis is an ancient form of
without development" economies. This is why legal aid. And there has always been that
we believe that in the economic field, the Busia eccentric form of briefing a lawyer, the "dock
brief", which entitles an accused person to
government seems to have begun on a revolu- have the services of a lawyer he picks from
tionary footing. It must continue to take a serious the row of lawyers in court, on payment of a
look at virtually all the contracts - and those nominal fee of about NC5.00. In theory. all
loans, and those "experts" in our midst! ~ and these forms of legal aid apply in Ghana under
our common law.
make bold decisions with regard to them. And
The experience of the centuries have shown
whOll the dubious foreign investors and their that substantial miscarriage of justice caD
internal economic saboteurs - however highly occur where there are no proper procedural
placed - are removed from our midst, posterity safeguards. In most countries, therefore. the
shall say that the Busia administration took law has erected elaborate forms of procedure
(and, in the common law world. of evidence)
cognizance of the need for economic independence. designed to ensure that at all stages of the trial
without which political independence becomes a parties would be protected against unfairness
mere misnomer. and injustice. It is not for nothing that there are
13 February 1970 THE LEGON OBSERVER 3
such rules as that every person should be pre· Criminal Justice (1961):
sumed innocent until the contrary is proved; The essence of the adversary system is chaI·
that the guilt of the accused should be proved lenge. The survival of one system of criminal
beyond reasonable doubt; that no man should justice and the values which it advances depend
be compelled to incriminate himself; that not upon a constant. searching and creative ques-
only must justice be done but that it must be seen tioning of official decisions and assertions at
to have been manifestly and undoubtedly d-3ne. all stages of the process. The proper perfor.
Such rules are intended to guard against mis- mance of the defence is thus as vital to the
carriages of justice. They are empty and value- health of the system as the performance of the
less when those they are ultended to protect prosecuting a'lld the adjudicatory functions. It
cannot. because of ignorance, fully invoke them. follows that in so far as the financial status of
And in many cases a person without legal the accused impedes vigorous and proper chal-
assistance cannot fully invoke them in his own lenges it constitutes a threat to the viability
defence. of the adversary system. We believe that the
system is imperilled by the large numbers of ac-
A Legal Contest cused persons unable to employ counsel. ..a nd
by the large, undeterminable numbers of persons
The system of trial in this country is adver- able to pay some part of the costs of defence
sary. A trial is a legal contest between two but unable to finance a full and proper defence.
parties, with the judge acting as referee. It is Persons suffering such disabilities are incapa.
for each party to prove his case, to marshall ble of providing the challenges that are indis-
and adduce evidence in support of it. This mode pensable to the satisfactory operation of the
of trial requires that the contesting parties shall system. The loss to the interests of the accused
as fa r as possible be equally armed. Where one individuals, occasioned by these failures. are
party is in a position to hire a lawyer and the great and apparent. It is also clear that a si·
other is not. the stakes can be said to be too tuation in which persons are required to con-
greatly stacked in favour of the one against the test serious accusation but are denied access
other. ADd it is not always that the former has to the tools of contest is offensive to fairness
a better case. The party so favoured may be a and equity.
heartless landlord trying to eject a tenant, who
is lega lly entitled to refuse to pay a higher rent; The Innocent and the He.lpless
he may be the rich farmer attempting to take
over the land of his poor neighbour; he may be There are severa] reported cases in which accu~ed
a callous successor trying to drive away a poor persons have pleaded guilty, only to find on sub·
widow and her children from the house of their sequent legal advice that there was 'llot even a
deceased husband and father. It may be the triable issue against them, and have succeeded on
state against which a poor, helpless. amd appeal in having their convictions quashed for
defenceless person is defending a right or pro· that reason. And no one knows the numbers of
secuting a claim, or against which an innocent undefended accused persons servilJ1g prison terms
man is trying to defend himself on a criminal for all sorts of crime of which they are innocent.
charge. Most persons accused of crime are poor and
In all such cases the poor marrl deserves legal illiterate. They are incapable of understanding
aid. and it was Justice Hugo Black of the U.S. the rules of procedure. evidence and substantive
Supreme Court who said in GritHn v. Dlinois: law applied at their trial. What Stephen wrotl! of
"There can be no legal justice where the kind accused persons ion the England of his time (1883).
of trial a man gets depends on the amount of before the institution of a comprehensive legal
money he has". aid system there, is true of accused persons in
The vigour of the adversary system depends Ghana today:
upon the ability of those who are accused of ... Most persons accused of crime are poor. ..
crime. or have a claim, to challenge their and helpless ... When a prisoner is undefended
accusers or those who might have infr~nged or his position is often pitiable. even if he bas a
are trying to take away their rights. The effect good case. An ignorant uneducated man has
of poverty on the vigour of the adversary sys. the greatest possible difficulty in collecting his
tern may be summed up in the words of ideas. and seeing the bearing of facts alleged.
the Report of the (U.S.) Attorney-General's He is utterly unaccustomed to sustained atten.
Committee on Poverty and Administration of tion or systematic thought, and it often appears
4 TIlE LEGON OBSERVER
,
... as if the proceedings on a trial. which to establishment of legal aid for P"'po6CS of CII-
an experienced person appear pJain and simple. forcement of any provision of the proposed
must pass before the eyes of the prisoner like Constitution.
a dream be cannot grasp. Article 171(1) ... nnot. therefore, be Invobd by
This must be particularly true in the case, as in a perron cbarged under the Criminal Code or 1liiy
this country, of a person who cannot even under- other enactment other than the Constitution or iD
stand the language of the court and can fmly private litigation not brought under the Constitu-
follow proceedings through a poorly educated tion.
interpreter. What has been said of the indigent The Constitutional Commission did not even
accused is also true of the poor litigant in a pri- appear to favour a comprehensive legal aid
vate suit. Rights are no less in need of protection system. The Corom ission expressed the view that
because they happen to be contested by the rules "the good health of the nation as a whole
of civil procedure. will surely safeguard the life and happiness of
fu Ghana the only fann of legal aid in actual the citizen and financial considerations should
operation is the assigned brief system in murder not be allowed to injuriously interfere with
cases. An indigent appellant in criminal cases the maintenance of that health ... The m0-
may also be supplied with the record of proceed- dern view is neither in favour of the state at
ings free of charge. But apart from these cases the expense of the accused nor in fav, our of
there is no legal aid. Yet it is Dot easier to defend the accused at the expense of the state.
a charge of stealing, or fraud or burglary or man- Caution should be exercised not to give the
slaughter, than of murder. In fact in many res- accused too much latitude in the matte of
pects the laws on these crimes are more compli- legal representation for the poor and needy.
cated than the law of murder. It is immaterial that The whole of legal aid is really to help the
murder is a capital offence and the others are not. demonstrably poor individual and it is essen~
tn those also. the accused stands in peril of his tial that this principle should not be perverted"
fundamental right of freedom of movement. (emphasis mine)
Whatever is the charge. the safeguards of liberty Means for Defending Rigbb
must not be ignored.
Provisions for Legal Aid The Commission appears to think all that is
necessary for liberty and justice to be safeguarded
Article 171(i) of our Constitution recognises the is for the provisions of the Constitution to be
need for legal aid in cutain cases: enforced. But the provisions of the constitution
For the purpose of enforcing any provisions of only broadly deal with the rights of the citizen.
this Constitution. a person shall have legal aid These rights appear in their stark reality and in
in connection with any proceedings relating detail and in all their ramifications only in every
thereto if he has reasonable grounds for taking, day litigation and prosecutions. The Constitutional
defending, prosecuting or being a party thereto. rights are empty. mere academic abstractions.
Gause 2 of the Article enjoins upon Parliament to unless they are protected and watched in ordinary
make detailed provisions {or such legal aid. trials. Every person accused of crime stands in
Article 171 is of very limited scope. It appears peril of his life or liberty or of losing his money
to be limited to constitutional cases only, that 1S, - or other property. Most civil suits involve a
to actions brought under a provision in the consti- right to property or protection of the person or
tution, such as Article 2. lOS and possibly 2S. This reputation of an individua1 or damages for such
is quite c1ear from the Constitutional proposals right and protection. Freedom is indivisible and
(para. 72S-730 at p. 199): if these rights are fundamental means must be
Legal processes often involve substantial out- found to defend them at all times, .no matter what
lay. We do not tbink. however. that if Gha- the charge or issue.
naians are to be vigilant, as they are expected Parliament has power to establish a compre-
to be. such matters as relate to the ("nforcement hensive legal aid system under Article 171(3):
of any provision of the Constitution should uIn addition to the preceding provisions of
visit any individual with a financial burden. this article. Parliament may, by or under an
The state must provide a machinery whereby Act of Parliament provide for the granting of
an individual can invoke financial assistance legal aid in such matters, other than those re-
determined by other courts. The Constitution ferred to in clause (I) of this article as may
should accordingly provide specifically for the be prescribed therein".
, .
13 February 1970 THE LEGON OBSERVER 5
Cn a subsequent article we shall discuss the va- to involve a drift of labour from the rural to
rious forms of legal aid that may be considered the urban areas. In the absence of any other
appropriate for adoption. We can however begin factors the supply and demand or labour, at least
our discussion by urging that whenever in any from the experience of 19th century Europe, may
prosecution the state deems it necessary to emM be expected to be more or less in equilibrium.
ploy cOllnsel, or wherever in any private litigation
In Ghana, as in other developing countries,
the Courts think that considering the legal points
however, tbe problem is worsened by the follow-
and other interests of justice involved counsel is
ing factors which I will consider briefly in turn:
needed . legal aid ~hould be provided for the
the fast rate of population growth; it is estimated
mdigent accused or a party who is too poor to
that the population or working age is growing
hire counsel, or to finance the whole of the pro-
at about 3% per annum. The correspooding figure
ceedings.
for the developed counlries is 1 % and that for
the centrally planned economies is 1.2%. The
labour force in Ghana then is growing at a rate
The Econ(lmy of about three times as great as in the developed areas. What is even worse still is the fact that for
the next 15 years. nothing can be done about chan·
THE NATIONAL SERVICE CORPS ging this trend by way of a population policy or
birth control - and the problems this raises for
By the immediate future are thus inescapable. Thus
J. L. F. Abbey on the average at least 12.000 new workers arc
expected to enter the job market each year,
ONL of the major problems of the present civilian
bringing the labour force to about 4.5 million by
government is the rising unemployment ratc. In-
1975.
deed, I believe at the individual level op.e may
label this as the most important of the many pro·
blems of the new administration. Although it is The Struggle with Education
often difficult to reconcile conflicting official Th.is programme had its beginnings in ] 952
~timates of the nation's foreign debts. I believe when fee-free primary and middle school educa-
a lot has been said and done. and the search is tion was introduced. In 1961 the fee-free compul-
going on to find ways and means of securing sory primary and middl~ school education was
better re·payment terms; failing this, sOme more
introduced, and, in the 1961 /62 school year, en·
drastic action on our part cannot be ruled out.
rolmen t in Primary One more than doubled from
My main aim is to examine the unemployment 106.928 in 1960/ 61 to 231.784 in 1961 /62. Out of
problem and tbe part, if any. that the National this total , 148.167 pupils. reprelienting about 64%
Service Corps may be expected to play in its of the original entrants, reached Primary Six in
solution. the 1966/67 school year. About 81 % of this I"'er
The unemployment problem. largely bidden group (som~ 120.000 pupils) gained entry into
by the retention of otherwise redundant labour Middle Form I in the fu llowing year. Thus. at
on the pay rolls and the selling up and mainte. the begilfining of the current year, the first half
nance of numerous unprofitable enterprises. began of pupils from the compulsory fee-free elementary
to show up in its right dimensions when the education hit tbe doors of the Secondary Schools.
NL.C embarked on its policy of stabilization As always happens when schemes are started
and ration::Jiization of thc economy. Thus be· without their consequence') having been properly
twecn 1966 and 1968. employment levels dropped considered, the resulting frustration to pupil, pa-
by over 7(:'(.. The closiong <lown of inefficient go· rent and headmaster is perhaps better left unsaid,
vemment enterprises alone led to the laying off except that this year is going to be worse stt]l!
of approximately 67,000 persons. The slowing For this year, the second batch of the 1962/63
down in construction :.lctivity due to a cut-back Primary One pupils are going to join the struggle
in the importation of construction materials and for secondary school education. and the truth is
the raising of wages and salaries have all contri- that the secondary schools can take in only a little
buted their quota towards the ever rlsmg army more than 5st of the combined group of about
of the unemployed. 232.000 pupils in M .2 and M.3.
Generally. the change from an agricultural Thus, of the expected 120- I 30 thousand new
economy to an industrial one may be expected entrants to the job market i!l1 1971 , 65% would
6 THE LEGON OBSERVER I3 February 1970
•
be middle-school leavers, even after allowance getting the economy back on its feet in onIer to
has been made for entry into tedlDical and voca· absorb the unemployed in productive pursuits is
tiona! schools. the only long-term solution.
When only about 10% of the children of Given our present capabilities, as far as the
school-going age completed elementary educa- importation of capital equipment for productive
tion, non-agricultural jobs were available for all purposes is concerned, it seems that for the
of them at incomes considerably in excess of the N .S.c. to be more than a mere financial drain
average farmers. This set up an expectation on the economy, every attempt should be made
that schooling leads to a well paid non-agricul- to channel the enormous manpower SO gathered
tural job. As a result of the second factor dis- into labour-intensive projects.
cussed above. completion rates of about 60% In practice, technological conditions may
are being achieved. and with these the possibi- either narrow or eliminate choices or make a
lity of jobs for aU is now non-existent. At the capital intensive method preferable on the
same time it will take some time to alter expecta- grounds of quality control, or reduction ID
tions, and the interim period we are passing wastage of materials.
through at the moment is one of disappointment Opportuniti... for Substitution
and bitter frustration. So long as the gap not
only remains but continues to grow, fostering But, within recognized limitations, some
the unrealistic expectations of school leavers. possibilities of substitution of labour for capital
the urban centres will continue to be full of do exist, for example in weaving, woodworking.
partially employed people, who hope to get by clothing and leather. Opportunities for labour
with an average of six months work in the ye~ absorption and capital saving also exist in manu-
and still be better off than being on full time facturing processes in various ancillary opera-
employment farming in the rural areas, which tions, such as materials handling and packaging.
have scarcely any social or health amenities- The construction industry and agriculture,
basic amenities which. if nothing else, schooling however, offer by far the greatest scope for the
makes one feel should be taken as sine qua non! substitution of labour for capital. In these two
sectors many of the necessary activities can be
Negative Employment Growth performed by manual labour.
Between 1965 and 1968, the gross national The preference for capital-intensive methods
product (GNP) in terms of 1960 prices in both the public and the private sectors
increased by only 3.4 per cent. Since this growth quite often arises from the shortage of skilled
is made up of growth in productivity as well as labour and. perhaps more important. from the
growth in employment, it may be concluded reluctance of employers to recruit a labour-
from estimates of productivity for developing force which would not only need on-the-
countries that real employment growth in this job training but may also be without much
period was negative, and may have been negative previous experience in regular, wage employ-
or at most zero as early as 1963. This is in line ment.
with the facts, since. as noted earlier. the stabi- Various countries impose a tax on employers
lization programme of the N.L.C. brought the to support the cost of in-service training program-
unemployment problem into sharp focus with mes. It is worth noting that the present govern-
over 67.000 people laid off in the public sector ment has indicated its Willingness to suppon
alone. Idle manpower. whether in rural or urban financially in-service training programmes.
areas, is the most conspicuous loss of potential undertaken in the private sector.
energy in this or any other country. Apart from It would appear that the empbasis thus far
the wastage that it represents. and the threat placed on technical education in Ghana has
to political stability and economic progress that been too little. This is clearly indicated by the
it poses, it is a luxury that a country with scarce small-scale of government spending for technical
foreign capital, but relatively abundant fertile training (between 2.1 per cent and 2.8 per cent
land and an imported·food bill of about of total education expenditure in the period
NCSO,OOO a year can ill afford. The question 1962/63 and 1967/68). At the same time there
which our government must find an answer to seems to be serious doubt that the training now
is how best to utilise our human and land provided in our technical schools is meeting the
resources, granted the present constraints on needs of employers. Some of the problems are
the importation of capital to rebuild our general absence of contact between industry and
shackled economy. It must be made clear that the teaching staffs of these institutions; prevail-
I3 February 1970 THE LEGON OBSERVER 7
ing theoretical bias. and lack of the practical The N.S.C. could serve a useful purpose in
applications in their courses; and the present as much as it could provide the government with
locations of technical institutes at places remote the urgently needed breathing space while efforts
from industrial centres prevent the enrolment are made to get the economy moving again. It
of employed workers in part time courses and could be put to use in agriculture and construc-
prohibits the inter.change of students between tion and could also provide on-the-job training •
the educational and industrial spberes which is for more than 100,000 elementary school leavers
needed for the validity of their progress. expected to join the labour force in the next five
Further direct orientation of the pre-university years. The problems that are yet to be overcome
education towards manpower needs and realistic are serious and the financial and organisational
employment potentials is of critical importance. constraints could easily render the exercise not
especially since far fewer than half of the merely useless but dangerous! It must be re-
secondary school leavers can obtain university membered that the unemployed school leavers
places. Meanwhile. the numerical growth o~ are as yet unorganised and this may be just as
elementary school leavers bas reduced the pro- well. It is important that the organisers fully
portion of tbose who obtain secondary reali se the magnitude of the problems ahead and
school places to under 6%. carefully consider the consequences of mIs-
Some Practical Difficulties management or having to abandon the project
The N.S.C. properly organised could provide at a later stage.
direct assistance to farmers, for example in land It stands to reason that if we decide to carry
clear!ng and preparation as well as in planting on with this project, abandoning it at a later
and harvesting. The main difficulties here will stage would not only be a waste of scarce re-
be the determination of reasonable charges for sources but, with the hopes raised finally shat-
the different types of work on different farms, tered, the energies brought together for productive \
but even more important will be the problems of purposes may find their use on less productive
providing machinery and equipment, the trans- enterprises. The chaos and disaster that this could L
portation of these to the farms, the transpor- bring is perhaps better left to others to describe. ,
tation of the workers, their housing, remunera- \
tion etc. There is also the possibility that the THE WORI,D HEALTII
N.S.C. could help in the marketing of agricul- ORGANIZATION
tural produce. In the traditional, and largely
invites applications from
subsistence. economy which prevails in the rural SECRETARIES and SHORTHAND/TYPISTS
areas, output is related mainly to subsistence re- of English or French mother-tongue for its
quirements, since opportunities for marketing are REGIONAL OFFICE FOR AFRICA
just non-existent. If with the mobilisation of in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo
existing manpower farmers are to be encouraged Civil Status: Single'
Cemmeocing Salary: Including allowances
to produce more than needed for their families. equivalent to U.S. $4,273 per annum net of
then the means of disposing of their produce to tax. Six weeks annual leave and paid home
leave travel. Initial contract two years. I
enable them to obtain the maximum reward for Accommodation available for single people
their effort must be provided! The least that only. <
Minimum Standards Required: G.C.E. or its
can be done is the building of storage depots in equivalent and Stenographer aod Secretary
the rural areas so that the government's policy Certificate issued by the Government Secre-
for guaranteed prices for farm produce can be tarial School or R.S.A. Stage 3 Certificate. Two years oHice e1Cperience.
made truly effective. Closely related to this is Sborthand: 90 w.p.m.
the construction of feeder roads. It would Typing: 45 w.p.m. Main language: English or French with a
appear that the financing of these would present work.ing knowledge of the other. '
relatively minor problems only, since some pro- Age limits: 23 - 35.
vision is already being made-in the 1969-70 Applications must be sent by registered mail to: The WHO Representative
year Nel million was allocated for such projects. P.O. Box M.142,
In Accra. the general area of construction activity. enclosing photograph (not returnable) and
the N.S.C could also be useful on communal copies. of all certificates. obtained. Applications
voluntary works. In this regard, full advantage must. Include age, educatton and details of all previOUS posts held.
may be taken of the decentralisation exercise so No application will be acknowledged and
that projects approved of by the Regional ~rther information will be !lent only to those likely to be considered for testing. Please do
Planning Committees as neo:iing immediate exe- Dol se.n~ your application unless you can meet
cution can be undertaken by N.S.C. personnel. the ffilDlmum standards listed above.
8, ____________________~ ·~IH~E~.!LEG==~O~N~0~~~SE~R~V~B~R~ __________~ ~~
of aU Ibos to retum home in Ibe
Africa northern region massacres SO that they in absolute security.
The population density of n ..... n Nigaia bad
BIAFRA: THE POLITICS OF RELIEF
been something like 715 people per squue mOe
AGENCIES while the Federal average was 156 people to the
By E. Oiori Akyea square mile. The mass exodus of. Ibos into the
AFTER the surrender of Biafra to Nigeria many small area. therefore. vastly increased the popu-
people in Europe and America were affected by lation density of this area which was at war
a deep sense of deHation, They had believed that and had to support a war dlort~
"BiafTa" was a cause celebre which would vin- Soon after the war broke out food supplies
dicate all their notions of charity and the help fell short. and appeals went out to supply food to
that man must give to his fellow man. the hungry populations inside Biafra. The Fe-
BiafTan propaganda had effectivdy given the deral government had adopted the attitude that
impression that there was an imminent danger of this was an internal matter which could be settled
genocide and that the whole conduct of the war by Nigerians: the government said. and therefore.
by the Federal side was part of this plan to exter- that it needed no foreign help of any kind. Be·
minate the Ibos. who. in western terms, were ho- sides. if Nigerians were to adopt any foreign
nest, hard working and a go ahead people. help in the solution of such a crucial issue. it
Having established [hat spiritual link: between was assumed that the £eeds of maturity and s0-
the west and themselves. the Biafrans proceeded vereignty would be compromised.
•
to present a picture of a brave people who were
being oppressed by some "barbarians", as they Politica.l Implications
called the Federal side. But some relief agencies had already drawn
It is, therefore, not !'urprising that when the their conclusions! The Federal government was
war ended suddenly the Pope. for example, could said to have engaged in a war of attrition. and it
not but warn of a possible genocide which. to him, was their duty to ignore the calls of the legiti-
was imminent. It was also not surprising that the mate government and do whatever they thought
western journalists who were taken to the former was right to preserve life. The political implica-
rebel-held areas. and already suffering from some tions of such conclusions were not considered at
kind of irritation at not being given the red car- all.
pet treatment, suddenly descended on poor The result was that the Biafrans had reason
Gowon to say that he was not doing enough for to justify their course of action .get sustenance. and
the East Central State. to continue to fight although sometimes under
the most appalling conditions.
Mythical 1\1issionaries Because of the attitude of the relief organizations.
The main point is that there was annoyance Major-General Odumegwu Ojukwu was given
for their not being allowed to run the show and a powerful counter to use in his many sided war.
to crcate their heroes. The heroes of the struggle He. for example. could refuse Lagos's offer of
must not be Nigerians but the mythical mission- daylight relief flights with the excuse that it was
ary who battles against all odds to bring comfort fraught with dangers to his state. He refused the
and succour his less fortunate brethren. American plan to use river craft to bring up sup-to
The main point of this article. however, is to plies. ADd he used starving children as a pro-
try to map out the activities of the relief agencies paganda pawn to get what be wanted.
and to show how these activities have frustrated When the war ended there were about eight
the efforts of Gowen and his men to bring an end organizations working on relief in what used to
be Biafra. These included. the Nordic Red Cross.
to the struggle.
When the civil war started in July 1966. the the International Committee of the Red Cross.
Federal government seriously underestimated the Caritas International. Joint Church Aid, the Cana-
dian Relief Agency. The island of Sao Tome
strength of the Biafran'i. It had said that the war
was a police action which was to take a couple assumed an importance that shocked the Nigerian
government. Caritas ailld Joint Church Aid.(1 .C.A.)
of weeks to complete.
However. in the weeks preceding the outbreak made it the centre from which they made I)ightly
of hostilities Ojukwu had carefully stockpiled flights into the Biafran enclave after the fall of
roough ammunition to defend the new state he Port Harcourt and Enugu. They helped in the
9070 creation of the uti airstrip which became the life-was creating. He had requested more that
13 February 1970 TIIE LEGaN OBSERVER 9
line for Biafra's communication with the outside Biafra.
world. In May Lindt had been detained at Lagos air-
When Sao Tome would not Jet its airport be port for allegedly tampering with security. He
used. the agencies shifted to Cotonou in Dahomey. was said to have deceived the airport officials
They stockpiled hundreds of tons of food and while flying in from Cotonou. But Lindt said
medical supplies with which to feed the starving this was the result of a misunderstanding between
people of Biafra. his pilot and the Lagos ground control. Besides.
Apparently, these relief planes acted as a cover the Nigerian Air Force had shot down a Swedish
to the gun running planes of the Biafrans; their Red Cross DC-7 which had defied orders to land.
arms came in through Madrid and Libreville.
In the midst of all the confusion Lindt resigned
That Portugal. which has refused to grant
independence to her colonies. should be aiding a from his Red Cross job while being praised by
liberation struggle calls for some questions as to Mr. Willy Spuchler, the Swiss Foreign Minister.
the motives and the results. Besides. Gabon wbich much to the annoyance of the Nigerians.
had recognised Biaffa was being used as a con- Oon June 3D, the Federal government relieved
duit by some western powers, notably France, to the International Committee of the Red Cross of
channel help to Biafra. responsibility for co.ordinating relief efforts on
both sides. Thus, the Red Cross airlift from
These relief agencies, Caritas and J .C.A. Cotonou, Dahomey, and Santa Isabel. Equatorial
especially, together with the Nordic Red Cross, Guinea, and the Joint Church Aid airlift from the
got in the way of the military operations of the Portuguese island of Sao Tome, were banned.
Federal Forces that rendered them impotent be·
cause hard to distinguish between a relief plane The government threatened to shoot down any
and a military plane. plane that tried to defy its orders. This put all
planes under a ban, and made relief officials
Other Side of Rel.,f most unhappy. Instead of giving their goodwill
to the Nigerian Red Cross, they were sure it
was going to make a mess of their job.
Another point is that the relief agencies allowed
The new president of the Red Cross then
the Biafrans to use their aircraft to transport
launched a bitter attack on the Nigerians. Mr.
material which turned out later to be arms.
Marcel NavilJe said that there was danger of mass
What happened was that on each flight to VIi
deaths if the Red Cross did not resume its flights
there would be some room on the plane. The
into Biafra.
Biafrans asked and got pennission to transport
their own goods aboard these aircrafts. These
goods were not checked by the relief agencies to Pressure From Big Powers
ascertain their contents. So the charge by the
Federal government that the relief agencies, instead
of belping to end the war were prolonging it, is He commented on the "tragic nonappreciation
true in a sense. of the true situation" by those countries supplying
To put the relationship of the relief agencies arms and military equipment on both sides. He
and the Federal government into some perspective described the Nigerian government's expulsion
it is proposed to give in some detail the story of Lindt as "insolence"
of the breach with the International Committee
of the Red Cross. Their breach was brought Later the Nigerian Government shifted its
about with tbe expulsion from Nigeria of Dr. ground after strong pressure from some of the
August Lindt who had been the chief Red Cross big powers. The Red Cross wanted to give the
official in West Africa. The move amazed the Nigerian government the terms under which it
Red Cross but the Federal government accused was to work in a sovereign country. Thus it was
Dr. Lindt of becoming politically interested m not surprising that when the war ended the
the civil war. Nigeria-n government again insisted on its right
The reason had been Lindt's reported state. to administer aid to the East-Central state.
ment that a Biafran resistance would exist in any The important thing is that the foreign journa-
case even after a Federal victory. He was also lists are indulging in a type of sensationalism
not doing anything to hand over relief to the which obscures the efforts of the Nigerian govern.
Nigeriao Red Cross and had not consulted Lagos ment to keep the COUDtry going under its own
before starting relief flights from Cotonou into dictates.
10 TIlE LEGON OBSERVER 13 February 1970
never been able to accept any of them. Kant. for
Tribute example. had claimed that the certainty of matho-matics was due to the alleged fact that the subject
matter of that discipline was nothing other than
BERTRAND RUSSELL: 187~1970 the fundamcnal 'forms' of the buman mind itself;
By while Mill had attributed the certainty of mathe-
J. E. Wiredu matical propositions to the fact that they are (at
WHEN Bertrand Russell died last week. he had any rate. as regards elementary theorems such as
reached the unusually ripe age of ninety~seven. '2 plus 2 is 4') ever so constantly verified in our
The occupation of professional philosophising is experience. Russell's answer was to seek to show
certainly not known for a high rate of mortality. that the whole of mathematics could be deduced
Even so, a life span of niney-seven years probably from pure logic alone.
tops the longevity list of well known philosophers. As a preliminary, Russell undertook a rigorous
That, however, is the least remarkable of the formal codification of logic upon the basis of a
superlatives which Russell attained in or by his handful of axioms and rules. The basic concepts
life. He was beyond question one of the greatest of mathematics such as 'set', 'Dumber'. 'addition',
philosophers of all time in the narrow, technical, were next 'defined' exclusively in terms of purely
as well as the broad, more immediately humane, logical concepts: whereupon mathematical theo-
sense of the term. The combination of high vir- rems were developed by means of the already
tuosity in minute and rigorous reasoning in ab- constructed logical apparatus. The details of this
stract investigations with deep commitment to the programme were presented in the three tremen-
improvement of the human condition is a pheno- dous volumes of Principia Mathemat;ca.
menon encountered only in the best philosophers. Russell's Speculative PhiIooophy
With the possible exception of the late John
Dewey, it is difficult to think of a twentieth cen- The overwhelming influence of Principia Ma-
tury philosopher in whom such attributes were thematica has not been due to the acceptance
united to better effect. of its theses that mathematics is reducible to logic,
In his theoretical researches, Russell's deepest a doctrine known technically as 'logicism', but
motivation seems to have been 'the quest for rather to the widespread adoption of the logical
certainty'. Primarily, he sought to secure sound techniques which were largely perfected in the
reasons (or believing in the certainty of Mathema~ course of the demonstration. Logicism, though
tics and, of course, also to give a philosophical still espoused by some of the best mathematical
account of that certainty. The enterprise inevitably logicians, has never attained general acceptance.
expanded to become an inquiry into human know- In particular, certain conceptions which Russen
ledge, its scope and limits- nothing short. Never- invented in order to overcome a rather devastating
theless, it was in the more formal region of logic difficulty, (Russell's Paradox) which he himself had
and the Foundations of Mathematics that he discovered around 1900 in the concept of set -
attained his most solid results . in the very heart of the foundations of mathema~
Quest for Certainty tics, that is to say - have had to contend indeci-
sively with rival proposals by some very authori-
As Russell conceived of certainly, it was a tative mathematical logicians for the better found-
chimerical objective attainable neither in nor out- ing of Set Theory. As there seems, to date, little
side Mathematics; and one might even say that hope of unanimity in this matter, one can hardly
this has been the lesson of his own work in Ma- avoid the reHecrion that mathematics remains the
thematical Logic. Yet, if it was thus misconceiVed, home of certainty only so long as its foundations
Russell's quest for certainty bore very enduring are not too deeply probed. Curse or blessing. the
fruits. It led. among other things, to the writing, circumstance is due to Russell.
in coUaboration wih Alfred North Whitehead, of In the more speculative areas of philosophy.
Principia Mathematica (1910.1912.1913). a monu- Russell's influence is somewhat more difficult to
ment of concentrated and sustained mental power define. It cannot be said that the philosophic
without precedence in the hisory of human think- world owes to him any set of stable speculative
ing. That work is undoubtedly the single most doctrines. In fact, what, if I remember rightly,
influential factor in the sbaping of Modern Logic somebody has described as Russell's 'kaleidoscopic
in the twentieth century. imagination' displayed such velocity in changes
There had, of course, been accounts of mathe- of doctrinal opinion that would-be followers were
matical knowledge before Russell. But he had not infrequently taken by disconfitted surprise.
13 February 1910 TIlE LEGON OBSERVER 11
An early Hegel-via-Bradley type of monistic ideal- were his absolute intellectual candour and free·
ism yielded place, thanks to the impact of his dom from dogmatism. He never hesitated to
friend G. E. Moore. to an extremely unsqueamish admit an error in his philosophical reasonings
pluralim-that was in metaphysics. In Ethics, a or conclusions. Frequently. he expressed his posi.
confident belief in the objectivity of moral attri- tions in a provisional way with confessions of
butes was shattered by the mocking dialectic of doubt. The layman wiIJ be surprised, perhaps,
Santayana. (Winds of Doctrine), Thereafter, to learn that such an approach had never exactly
Russell experimented with one form or another been the order of the day in previous philosophic
of Ethical Relativism with never any evidence of epochs.
his earlier assurance. In political thinking RusseU always mclined
At one point or another in his philosophical to the left, which accounts for the particular forms
career, he expounded doctrines such as logical taken by his interventions in practical affairs both
atomism, neutral monism, behaviourism (modi- in his own country and internalionally. He even
fied in various important degrees), Platonic real- once, in print, expressed considerable sympathy
ism, logical constructionism, phenomenalism .... for Anarchism (Roads (0 Freedom 1919) which
The one 'ism' that can be associated with bis he. however, reversed after the second world war
name with any safe claim of permanence is his on the ground that, as he put it in the pre(ace
own transfonnation of that empiricism which has, to the third edition of that work (1948). "Total-
with a brief idealist interregnum, to be noted itarian systems in Germany and Russia with their
below, characterised British philosophic thought vast deliberate cruelties. have led me to take a
since the times of Hobbes, Locke, Berkeley, blacker view than I took when I was younger
Hume and Mill. One might even add Russell to as to what men are likely to become if there is
this list as the last of the great British Empiricists no forcible control over their tyrannical impulses".
- unless Prof. Ayer, at Oxford, can assume tbe Since the 'forcible control' was to be exercised
mantIe of the departed giant. At all events, it is by men presumably also subject to the same
nearer the truth to say that Russen's impressive regretted tendencies. one must say that it is the
effect upon the philosophical thinking of the implied optimism rather than the explicit pessim-
twenlieth century, in English speaking parts at ism that is so striking in Russell's revised concep-
any rate, was due less to specific results than tion of human nature and goverance.
to the revolution which he spear-headed in the
style of philosophising both by precept and A Great Optimist
example. By and large, Russell remained basically an
optimist mastered to the end by visions of what
Rossen's Educative Vtrlues man might become if he betook himself more
obediently to the dictates of reason. It must have
In Russell's days as an undergraduate in Cam-
been a deep strain of hope for man that, amidst
bridge. English philosophy was dominated by a his 'unbearable pity for the suffering of mankind',
tradition of idealism deriving from Kant and, to
energised his tireless efforts to bring sanity and
a greater extent. Hegel. Although in the best
therefore humanity and therefore peace to the
exponents such as Bradley, the profound obscur-
world.
ity of that type of philosophy was sometimes
relieved by the sheer Celicity of its prose, philo- Unsympathetic critics will rejoin that between
sophical writing in that mode often displayed the American~backed government of Saigon and
scanty sense of logical or scientific control or the North Vietnam-backed Vietcong which
even linguistic responsibility. Having outgrown Russell sometimes seemed ready to glorify, it is
his own youthful idealism, Russell collaborated difficult to believe that reason dictates a choice
powerfully with G. E. Moore, to change the to be followed with so much passion as RusseU
philosophical climate. Thenceforth, philosophers displayed in favour of the 'heroic struggle of
were called upon to justify their positions by the people of Vietnam'. Rationality, however. is
step by step analysis and argumentation, intro- not a set of conclusions but rather a method of
ducing technical terms only under prior explana- arriving at them; and its principle might be
tion and putting their thoughts into logical form stated, in the words of Russell, as that "it is
wherever possible. It is especially due to Russell undesirable to believe a proposition when there
that wild unscientific conceits are rare in the is no ground whatever for supposing it true"
world of Eoglish-Sp""king philosopby today. (Sc~p(ical Essays p.9). It was due to his weU-
Not least among Russell's educative virtues founded belief that the Americans were perpe-
12 THE LEGON OBSERVER
Irating unspeakable brUlalities in North and South generally loved for bis iotcrvanions ill pnaiI:aI
Vietnam that RusseU expressed such implacable affairs and not least because of the sharp .';die
opposition to American policy in those regions. way in which he administered his rebukes &0 the
After righteous official denials. the general public higb personages of this worltl. His total oprOO'
is gradually learning the unrighteous realities of tion to nuclear war (which was probably respoa·
American activities in Vietnam. sible for the faUacy that he·. ... a pacifist) oftco.
Contrary to frequent suggestions. Russell n~ver as is well known, took the rather direct form of
was a pacifist. He opposed or supported specific civil disobedience and was certa.iD.ly Dot accept·
wars on their specific mcrits or demerits. It is able to many 'high minded' people. Comlq
reported that the following bit of dialogue took directly home, Ghaoaians will ,""U the support
place when Russell was being tried for his war which Russell seemed to be giving to Kwame
resistance activities during the first world war; Nkrumab eveo during tbe peak of bis diclator·
Tribunal: "We understand that you are oppos· ship in Ghana - a circumstance which cansed
eel to war, Mr. Russell?" in not a few observers in Ghana the anguished
Russell: "Not all war; only this war". suspicion that. perhaps. the awesome intellect of
It was, therefore, not inconsistent on his part Russell had at last been overtaken by senile
to have supported tbe allied side of the second retrogression. Admirers of Russell in Ghana must
world war. whatever else may be thought of his surely have been relieved to hear the revelation
point of view in that case. And while on this by no less a lieutenant of Nkrumah than Kofi
matter, one may note another great quality of Baako soon after the coup of February 1966
Bertrand Russell, namely his courage. He was that Russell bad, in fact, been urging Nkrumab
prepared to express his opinions and act accord- in private communications to repeal the Preven-
ingly. damn the consequences. It is history that tive Detention Law.
he was imprisoned for bis stand with regard to In spite of the frequent acerbity of his polemical
the first world war and lost his Cambridge posi- wit in newspaper controversy as well even as in
tion to boot. It is also history that he wrote his technical disputation. there can be little doubt
beautifullntroductiolJ to Mathematical Philosophy of the careful and generous thought or the mass-
during that term of imprisonment. ive learning that lay behind Russell's discussions
of every topic to which he directed his attention.
A Catalogue of Persecutions Bertrand Russell lUust certainly be resting in
peace. If mankind is 110t living in peace in spite
A large part of Russell's active life was, in of the passionate efforts of Russell in his search
fact, spent in opposing the stream and suffering for peace while he lived. one can only remark
for it. He preached a radically liberal outlook after the well known Akan apothegm that it is
on sexual morality at a time when prudery was given to man to achieve something, not every-
the orthodox in Britain and America. In conse-
quence, he was not only publicly execrated but
also subjected to positive privations. In 1940,
Russell was appointed to a visiting position at
the CoUeDe of the city of New York to give a ADVERTISE
course of: ::>lectures on mathematical logic. A tady
citizen of New York, presumably a m~~l of
contemporary piety and virtue, brought an InJunc-
tion in court against the appointment on the IN THE
ground that. on account of his opinions 0.0 ,;ex,
the presence of Russell in the genera1 regIon of
the College was a threat to the chastity of her
daughter who was entering the College (to pursue
studies totally unrelated to mathema~ical logic). LEGON
Mirabille diem. a judge was found In the U.S.
to uphold the objection and judicially annul the
appointment. These t\vo examples must here suHice
as illustrations in the absence of sp.ace for .an
extended catalogue of the persecuttons which OBSERVER
Russell suffered in his life.
Russell was not. and perhaps never will be,
13 February 1970 TIlE LEGON OBSERVER
13
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14 mE LEGON OBSERVER 13 Fellruary 1970
Observer Notebook pree.. are published. if it is Dot intended to publish statements or releases in full. Secondly.
it may help to break from the practice of the
former President and leave ministers to mate
CoDfficIlog SlBtemear. Public Policy statements on matters within their assigned com· OD
petence or at least check with them since they
THE CITIZENS of a democracy must have accurate are supposed to be in command of the relevant
information on the government's intentions and data and up~to-date thinking on those matters.
activities in order to exercise their right to the Thirdly. it would be helpful if the Prime Mini-
criticism of public policy. It is also in the interest ster's office were infonned of intended statements
of tbe government to provide accurate and celi· on matters of public importance: there should
able information on matters of public concern be a clear distinction between politicking at
in order to obviate misin(orrned criticism which rallies and serious essays on reflections on
often degenerate into vicious rurnour. Normally Government policy.
such information reaches the public in the form In the absence of such attempts to provide
of ministerial statements and speeches reported reliable and authoritative infonnation the public
in the Press. is left uncertain and hesitant in the exercise of
the salutary duty of criticism and may resort
It is unhealthy both for the public and the to unwholesome ·rumour~mongeriDg'. What is
government if DO reiialllce can be placed on worse., the Government appears to be disorgan~
this infonnation or there is uncertainty about ized. functioning like Ml unrehearsed orchC'$tra
how authoritative are ministerial statements on piece and the Prime Minister not in control. This
matters even within their own assigned compet· may in tum give an impression of inefficiency
coce. Since assuming authority. the presoot if not a suspicion of impending crisis. Our Mini-
administration has given at least three occasions sters know that we can ill afford to give such
for doubt about the weight to be attached to
impressions and room for such suspicions.
reported ministerial statements of government
policy. One of these occasions. pointed out by
a reader in the letter columns. arose over whether
any. and bow much money has been authorized The Arrogance of Power
for the use of the National Service Corps. Another
arose over the Prime Minister's statement on MR. Alfred Kpodonu. Chief Executive of the
South Africa and its subsequent modification - Volta Region. is reported to have stated that no
or to be precise. clarification-by the Minister police permits will be given to any political party
of External Affairs. which turns its rallies into preaching subversion
There may be several reasons for these conflicts. and inciting the peopJe against the government.
They may be due to genuine misreporting: to If this statement, coming, as it is. out of the
afterthoughts particularly in cases that involve mouth of a public officer appointed on the basis
possible breach of parliamentary procedure and of his membership of the party in power. is
rules about the disbursement of public funds: true, then there could be no further evidence that
this is clearly what happened in case of the funds these are ominous signs for democracy in the
for the N .S.C.; finally there may be cases in country.
which enthusiastic response: to public clamour to Ominous principally because the beginnings of
be informed about matters of urgency outruns any dictatorship are characterised by attempts to
a sober assessmont of the Government's capa- tag as bad a label as possible on the actions as
cities so that the Government has to find a way well as the utterances of political opponents who
to square promise with performance. It happens happen in the meantime to be in the minority.
throughout those parts of the world where there There are times when persons are told not to
is public accountability by governments. indulge in "destructive" but in "constructive"
Without being certain about tbe roots of the criticism. Who decides what is "constructive·' or
conflicts here one can only prescribe a few and udestructive" but those very persons in power
rather obvious remedies. If misreporting is the against whom the criticism is made? Persons in
hub of the matter, it may be useful to accompany power then become accusers and judges. all com-
all important Government statements and releases pounded. Who decides what is subversion - the
with preces and insist that only those cenified Police. • political appointee or the ""urts? Cri·
13 February 1970 THE LEGON OBSERVER IS
ticism is criticism. If it happens to fall foul of the broke it in 1940 and 1944, and precipitated a
Jaw, the state has already provided ample means Constitutional amendment specifically preventing
of dealing with the situation. A political appoin- third terms. Marshal MacMahon, President of
tee's fiat OJ even the fiat of police officer has no- the Third Republic of France, indiscreetly exer-
thing to do with these means. Both can legitima- cised his power to dissolve the Chamber of
tely be challenged. Deputies in 1877. in order deliberately to thwart
The stand taken by Mr. Kpodonu, il actually the RepubHcans; from then on. the Presidents
persisted in and put into practice, logicaIIy leads of France never dared exercise that power for
to driving opposition underground where the fear of being branded anti·democrat. · though the
greatest harm is done and in which case govern- country. on some occasions. would have been the
ments shudder at their own shadows. better for it if they did. MacMahon's selfish abuse
We would strongly advise Mr. Kpodunu to have of power had discredited an otherwise useful
a hard look at Section 183 of the Criminal Code provision of the constitution.
rAct 29) , Articles 12 to 25 (inclusive) 01 the The moral of the above i:-: that eminent persons
Constitution which lay down. in clear and un-
serve their countries not only to the extoo.t they
fnistakable terms, the fundamental rights of the
adhere to the laws of the land but also to the
pitizen and mark carefully the words of Artic1e
degree they set. for emulation by others. far-
~(2) of the Constitution which says:
seeing and beneficent codes of behaviour. This.
"Any activity of a person, persons. or groups
in all cases. demands that kind of self-discipline
of persons which suppresses or seeks to sup-
and self-abnega tion which makes a man refuse
press the lawful political activity of any other
to capitalise 00 certain types of very tempting
person or persons generally or any class of
persons shall be an unlawful act" (our em- opportunities that are available to him for
private benefit.
phasis.
Mr. Kpodonu's words are serving the present To be more specific. we are disturbed by recent
~ovemment no useful purpose. We would like to examples set by two former high-ranking public
~elieve that they are only unintended aberrations officers, Messrs. J. V. L. Phillips and E. N.
~f over-enthusiasm. Omaboe. Mr. Phillips held consecutively the
posts of Commissioner fOI Lands and Mineral
Ex-Public Officers and Patriotic Duty Resources. Industries. and Labour and Social
Welfare, while Mr. Omaboe consistently held the
HERE is an almost hackneyed and yet wise post of Commissioner for Economic Affairs and
tatement that, in a democratic society. what is was also a member of the Finance Board estab-
t prohibited is permitted. while in a dictatorial Hshed by the National Liberation Council. By
r totalitarian system what is not specifically virtue of holding those posts. these two gentle-
rmitted is prohibited. For. however compreben- men must surely have come into the closest
ve any legal system may be, there is always a possible contact with some of the country's most
uch wider area of a mau's lif(: completely out- guarded policy secrets. documents , etc.
e the purview of specific laws than is covered
statutes or other types of law. It is as a result But no sooner had they left their public posts
than they either joined or allowed themselves to
this that there is greater individual freedom
be grabbed mto policy-making positions by two
democracies ihan under dictatorships. But
en in democracies, top public officers are not giant foreign finns - Va1co and Barclays Bank,
peeted to set examples that have the inherent D .C.O., which are doing continuous and direct
dency of being abused by others; again. in business with Ghana in the most sensitive spots.
mocracies. the individual is expected. in the We do not want. nor do we have any evidence.
seoce of specific laws and regulations, to act to impugn the integrity of these gentlemen;
such a manner as not to flout usages and con- neither do we imply that they may deliberately
tions painstakingly evolved by his society. reveal state secrets to these companies; nor do
Indeed. many of these salutary conventions we deny them their legal right to accept these
d usages are generated within societies <3S a posts. But we would like to state that, if they
nsequence of the self-imposed discipline of mean to perform their functions well in their
ividual prominent men. And s(' George Wash- new posts. tben part of the advice that they give
gton refused the American Presidency for more
an a second term. thus establishing a COD\'en- to tbese companies is bound to bear the colouring
n that held good until Franklin D . Roosevelt of the special knowledge of the country's affairs
11i THE LEGON OBSERVER 13 1910
which they must have gained whlle holding those At the moment in Ghana aU ali. ... are nquired
high-ranking posts in the government. Further. . by law to possess reside. ... , pelmits. By the midd1e
more, their examples may tempt other high- of the year a1i..,s in certain sc:dors of the ..........
, ranking public officers to curry favour with my will be giving way to Ghanaians, at the .._
private companies. with which they entertain time as the control of borders and custODiO posts
hopes of passing their days of pension or retire. . is strengthened. The rationale behind aU this is
ment. partly the protection of the economy and the
One could tolerate Ghanaian public officers interests of the citizen. and partly the reduction of
joining International Organisations which may smuggling, robbery with violence and other forms
have peripheral and fleeting contacts with Ghana. of crime associated with the criminal elements
or moving from the private sector into the public among most immigrant communities. especially
sector. provided they may not be permitted to those centered on or coneentrated near the boun-
go back into the foreign private sector. as 50me daries between states such as we maintain in these
of our former Commissioners did. In such self- parts. Furthermore. it is hoped that the many non-
sufficient economies as those of America and productive aliens who swell unemployment figures.
Britain. this sort of movement into and from add to the many mouths that have to be fed OD
private and public sectors may be tolerated with· limited resources, as well as benefit from welfare
in limits. services. will in the case of Ghana. as elsewhere.
IlJldeed. in the present context of the juxta- return to their countries of origin.
position of developed and developing countries. All this is painful but necessary. At the same
and the delicateness of the relationship between time. some Ghanaians have been a little uoasy
agents of the two types, we deem the examples about the exemption of certain categories of wor-
set by these two gentler.1en as bad precedent!, kers and professionals from the effects of this
for this country. It is like, though not quite. a exercise. There is no doubt that Ghana. like all
former President of the British Board of Trade other countries. will continue for a long time to
taking up al1 executive and policy-making need immigrant skills for certain jobs. But there
appointment with the American National Asso- is no doubt. either, that no country can afford to
ciation of Manufacturers: or a former high· have foreign nationals in too large numbers in
ranking RO.A.C. executive taking up a simIlar areas as equal1y important as that of trade: for
post with Pan-American Airways. example. in the fields of education. national cons-
We hope that. if because of the present Con· tructional works, and 'llatlonal security.
stitution. a law cannot be passed to prevent this IT the policy of self reliance and greater oppor-
sort of thing. at least. public officers and public tunities for Ghanaians is to be pursued more
opinion should create an atmosphere that may vigorously. if Ghanaians are more and more to
prohibit its recurrence. take their destiny. into their own hands and enjoy
---- a greater sense of national security. then a sys-
The Gbanaianization Process tematic effort needs to be directed at training the
Ghanaian citizens who should man all these cri-
IN the past two years, and more so in recent tical fields and progressively take over their own
months. residents in Ghana have been made responsibilities from the foreign nationals who
sharply aware of the distinction between a citizen have held them by reason of our unreadiness. It
and an alien. This distinction has always existed; is to be hoped that this matter has not escaped
in one form or another it does exist in all coun· the attention of the government, and that, before
tries. With it. there are specified rights, privileges long, the Ghanaian public will hear of definite
and obligations. Aliens, though entitled to the plans to remedy the situation.
protection of the national laws (as well as subject
to their requirements and sanctions). cannot of Sludenl's Death al Sarbah Hall
course expect to enjoy exactly the- same right as IN the early hours of Saturday, 31st January
citizens. The courts often attest to this: in Ghana. 1970, Kofi Owusu-Bioh, a student of Mensah
for example, the recent case of Omar Captan is Sarbah HaIL was found in a pool of blood and
one in point. Here it was declared that the right died soon afterwards. The 22-year-old student
to immunity of expulsion from the country is not was in his third year of studies for the BSe.
one open to an alien but only to a citizen of (Agric.) deglee. A native of Onwe, Dear Eji. ...
Ghana. Owusu-Biob was a product of Opolcu Ware Se-
There are other restrictions, of one kind or condary School, KomI';'
another, which all countries apply on foreigners. The coroner's repon is yet 10 be made known,
13 February 1970 THE LEGON OBSERVER 17
but the circumstances of his death indicate that of January, for instance, choreography and stdge-
he might have faUen to his death. Jf he died from craft made all the difference between the perfor-
a fall, then the strong probability is that he fell mance of the Eastern Region contingent which
over the rails of the steps leading up to the third was dull arnd uninspiring. and that of the Kpandu
floor. Whether this was the cause of his death or Borborbor troupe which represemeJ the Volta
not. the circumstances of his death have shocked Region, The organisers of the Festival ought to
the students of his Hall and have raised some take note of such factors.
issues about the safety of the students generally. The lectures drew moderate audiences, though
Whatever the architect may say about tbe the morning ones tended to Slart sometimes a
design of the Mensah Sarbah HaJJ, there is no whole hour after the announced time, much to
doubt that the rails are dangerously low. For a the disgust of secondary school contingents ope-
man of average height it is a fairly easy possibi. rating on a strict time schedule. While one sees
lily to fall over the rails by an accidental loss the relevance of lectures on "The Sculptor'.!:.
of balance. The issue of importance mow is whe- Inspiration" or "The Practical Uses o[ Art" in a
ther it IS not lime to consider the installation of Festival of Arts. one was surprised by such orher
some protective device onto the rails. Although topics as "Careers for Women" and 'Master and
such a ctevice may detract from the arcbitecturai Servant Relationship in Business",
beauty of the Hall. it may make the steps safer Finally. it is necessary for the health of the
for the students. Festival that it should be held in all Regions in
turn. so that the cultural diversity of Ghana does
The Ninth AnnuaJl'i'estival o[ Arts not get presented to the same small coterie year
afer year.
ON the commendable initiative of the Founding
Fathers of the National Cultural Centre in Ku- The Civilian Coup in Lesotho
masi. a series of annual Festivals or Arts have
been held; the ninth of the series has jusl ended. THE bald-faced seizure of power in Lesotbo by
This consisted of performances of dances, plays Chief Leubua Jonathan at a time when he appear-
cultural displays. a fashion parade, lectures and ed to be losing his country's first post.indepe-nu-
a durbar. ence General Elections recalls to mind similar
The national character of the performances is events in other parts of Africa. But the resem-
easily assured by the enlistment of performing blance is only su perficial. The event dramatizes
of the country. {he predicament of a country in a very unenviab le
groups and artistic personalities from all corners POSJtIO.l an independent black sovereign state
One problem which tbe present conception of which is an enclave physica l1y enclosed by white-
the Festival has failed to solve is how to emure ruled ap2.flheid South Africa.
a national audience_ This is not to be taken ~oo Lesotho's supply lines are kept running through
· literally. We cannot insist on the whole nation the «generosity" of the South African regime,
· gelling to see the Festival: even if it was physically some of \\hose nationals are also in firm control
; possibl~. some people might exerci~e their demo- of Lesotho's tiny security forces. Predictably, tv.-a
cratic right and refuse to see it. But the current shades of political opinion came to the fore in
practice of having the Festival only in Kumasi the rec.;:nt political campaign. with Leabua Jona-
has the serious drawback of restricting the enjoy- than espousing continued friendly relations with
nlElTH of the things presented there to a small dnd South Africa while Pan-Africanist Mokhehle of
largely immutable audience. the op;Jo~'ition campaigned for a show-down with
No apology need to be offered by our corres- South Africa.
pondent for basing an assessment of the Festival The (!uestion that arises is whether Chief Lea-
on only a few days' observation. The cultural bua Jonathan could have done otherwise. 'I his
· displays and traditional dances varied considera- issue cannot be separated from the question of
bly in the finesse that went into their presentation, whether his action was right. To seize power in
1L should be obvious to ::tll and sundry that it is the sh::tmeless fashion in which he did. and to
no small task to tran'if)Ose a tradi!ional ritual tTeH his Head of State with the amount of dili-
dance from its accmtomed and familiar .. ocial courtesy he has disolaved - these apnear to be
context onto the nlndcm stage for the eniovment illegal actions. But the fact remains that w~ in
of an audience for whom the c"{nerience is new. Africa on the whole calmly aCQuie~ce in ri ... ht-
The e'(ercise calls for a great deal of soohistica- wing tr;'l\'c<;ties of iu<;.tice while of comoar:lblc
ted choreography On the afternoon of the 21nd posture left.wing oncs shock us. Here is a case in
18 THE LEGON OBSERVER 13 February 1970
which neither the UN or the OAU is likely to prepared fertile grounds for tumour to thrive. All
take any decisive action. that is n:quired is a short or toOl absence of anyone
The show-down with South Africa has merely of the panelists 00 our 1V screens and demand for
been postponed. Chief Jonathan will have to call rumour which would be swelling up alt this time
off his bluff soon. The new elections, if they are would surely have supply catching up fast.
genuine, are likely to reveal the scanty support Secondly. whoever sees to it that "Kaleidoscope"
he still bas; South Africa will then face the moral goes on the air has been made psychologically aware
challenge of either seeing a genuine nationalist that "he who pays the pipper" insists that the tunes
government eating its entrails from within, or be to his taste.
overrunning the country. The world waits and This isn't so healthy for our media. The Minister
watches. Africans will watch. in particular, the should note that gagging of media could be achieved
reaction of the self-proclaimed leaders of the psychologically. Nobody wants that, any way.
free world and champions of democracy. P.O. Box 449 MiULb BoaDie
Accra.
Letters
Financiag National Service Corps
Africa's Unstable Governments? SIR - in the Legon Observer (L.a. VII), we read.
inter alia: " ... Mr R. R. Amponsab, Minister of
SIR - I must confess to being surprised by the Lands and Mineral Resources at a Progress Party
question allegedly put to Mr Victor Owusu, Foreign rally held here at Ejura-Asbanti on 28th December.
Minister by tbe head of the visiting Indian delega- announced that the government bad voted NCt
tion on why African Governments were so unstable. million towards the running of the proposed National
It certainly was immature and lacked tact, and, Service Corps."
even if the delegation bad come from a country
with a very stable government- India could hardly Against this background, Information Minister
be said to be in this category; badly does a month Brodie-Mends's recent press conference lD Accra
pass by without India's share of riots and killings- makes very interesting reading. The Minister is re-
it is more the type of question put to heads of state ported to have denied that the government had voted
by American or European journalists, not by the NCt million for the running of the Corps. He is
heads of goodwill delegations. further reported to have quoted from the Prime
P.O. BCtt 1934 Marilynoe Charles Minister's Radio and T.V. Broadcast when launching
Kumasi the Corps to make his point. It is interesting to note
that Mr. Brodie-Mends's statement was made on 23rd
January, 1970, i.e. almost a month after Mr. Ampon-
sab's statement.
Meddling "itb Mass Media? Perhaps Mr Brodie-Mends wants to point out that
SIR - 1 wish the Minister of Information would in it was Mr Amponsab and not the Prime Minister
future avoid such open confrontation as exhibited in who announced. that the money had been voted fof
the Corps. Whatever the case, things seem a little
his press conference of 23rd January, 1970. Wby did
confusing to some of us and we would like to have
he attack the panelists who contributed. to the G.B.C. clarification. Has any money been voted or not'1
TV programme "Kaleidoscope" recently,? Independence Hall David AkueUeb
I could project two evil effects: U.S.T.
In the first place, the Minister has unknowingly Kumasi.
Foreign Daub _Dd their Employees
SIR-The recent complaints raised by the junior
CORRECTION workers of the foreign banks which are operating In
Ghana. need careful examination by the government.
Kwame Arbin's letter entitled "Training The recent rumpus, which was unfortunately sbroud-
our Intellet:tuals'1" (L.O. V /3) should have ed by an unimportant Question of what to wear. goes
deeper than meets the eye.
begun thus: "I hope Dr. BUsia, the Prime
Minister, did not" . . . The government must scrupulously re-examine the
true role of the Foreign banks and their mode of
The error is regretted-Ed. operations to see how they serve our economic: goals.
The workers complained among other tbinp that
their pay is not commensurate with the biah protitl
13 February 1970 TIIE LEGON OBSERVER 19
the banks make. Tbey even claim tbe pro.fi~. are tbey send relief or no, Nigerians are already demons-
higher still and that the declared oncs arc fiCtitiOUS. trating that at last the stage has been reached where
They further claim that their counterparts In the tbe African caD take care of himself. They must stop
Ghanaian Banu receive more fringe benefits. The being hypocritical. Finally ,they must remember
restaurant in the Bardays Office is. (or instance. that the Federal Military Government has learnt a
di~a~~~~_~e~ . great deal from the war and has by a1l means forgot-
The workers also question the inflow of expatriate ten nothing about it.
personnel since the coup when our graduates are Commonwealth Hall Abdul Razak EI-Abwah
unemployed. The two fo reign banks ~ogcther. cmpla,Y Leg. .
not more than six graduates. Ghanaian semor offi-
cials in Barclays Bank for example. can obtain loans
for cars but are not paid maintenance allowance and Repairing Cars at R.T. Briscoe
receive no housing alowancc; neither do they have
fixed yearly increment. SIR - The incident I wish to report may seem trivial,
All this is wrong in a country where the govern- but it illustrates the offensive way in which some
ment offers all the incentives and privileges for motor workshop managers treat customers who
private investors. All lawful attempts made by the complain that things have been stolen (or removed
patient workers to demand their due share. of the h~ge or rcplaced by inferior substitutes) from cars which
profits end up in dragging, and orten mconclusl\'c, have been sent to them for repairs. On the morning
constitutional technicalities. of February 4th, 1970, I went to the Briscoe garage
The banking institution is the basis of any econo- in the Ring Road Industrial Area where my V.W,
mic pyramid, and, without a finn grasp of this basic ear had been for nearly three months.
fact. the country will stand to lose. I noticed an extraordinarily bald tyre on the car
P.O. Box 80 Kwalm Safo and immediately complained that the tyre was not
ttnO. on the ca r when I brought it to the garage. I was
then told that this was my spare tyre and tbe
Niger-ia, Biafr.a and the Rclief Problem original was ruined beyond repair. When the ruined
tyre was later shown to me, I pointed out at once
SIR - Since the cc~sation of hostilities in Nigeria, that it could not be mine since I was not in the
the problem of relief has no doubt been paramount. bablt of buying white walled tyres. The Manager,
With stan;ation and disease now threatening what with increditable obstinacy, argued that I was wrong
was tbe former "Ccessionist enclave many countnes since my car number had been written on the tyre
and organisations have offered to send relief aid to by one of the workmen, and that this workman
Nigeria, Some of these wbo'oC offers have been reo cou ld not possibly have made a mistake. The saucy
fused were those who arrogantly and stubbornly sent conclusi on from the German manager was that f
" rclief" to the rebel s during the war, unmindful of was entitled to my opinion, and be too was equally
any federal ruling on the issue. The stand of the cnti:lcd to hi, opinion.
Federal Military Government on the relief question What docs one do about this kind of bUllying
has, howc\·cr. received criticism from the European when one is a captive custome r, and must necessa-
press. It was their wish that the Nigerian government rily go to Briscoe for the kind of repair work that
accepted any kind of aid without any discrimination. had to be done on my V.W.?
But these foreign "do-gooder,,' bad better be told Department or Geography K. B. Dickson
that it is almost tcn yean now since Nigeria became Uni\icrsity of Ghana
independent. and tcrm~. especially those regarding Logon
her own aITai". cannot he dictated to her. If o;ome
of these Europeans wanted to save lives they would
Ol~t have cnclluragt.'<i ~ce'lSion which helped to pro·
long the war and con"CquenUy increased tbe suffer- Book Review
mc· If !'Iigeria is to emerge from this war to find
real peace and laMing pro"pcrity. it is essential that
<,he remains maslcr of her own destiny. Nigeria's VOLT-\.: 't\i'I'S GREATEST LAKE
friends will always he ready to assist. but the main (By James 1\-1o'mn; Andre Deutsch, London, 1969)
impetus must come from Nigerians themo;elves. Rcviewed by Fifi Hesse
The European J'lre .. ~ may hark but the Nigerian THE VOl. TA River Project was undoubtedly the
government is going to be stead fast In its policy. most ambitious de\'elopment project undertaken by
Their sen~allonal reports of genocide here and Kwame Nkrumah's c.P.P. government. It was ccr-
other atroeitie~ there are anI, meant to discredit the tainly not I:oneeivcd by Nkrumah; when the c.P.P
Federal government. These European journalists must came into power in 1951 a complete plan was already
c\'en bow down their head. in shame that Africans available on the drawing-board for implementation
are doing what Europeans have never been able to do
Indeed, on four occasions before indepcndenct
in their two lhou!.3nds ,caN of recorded history. For Great Britain came \-'ery close to deciding that 1n
never in any European war was such magnanimity integrated aluminium industry based on hydro-
shown to thc \·anqu ishcd.
electric power from the Volta. should be established
Europeans ha\'e done far worse things and com- in the Colon}' of the Gold Coast. That the project WaJ
mitted far morc k:nous war crimes. It would therefore
not begun before independence. with British and
be improper for them to try to plan for Nigerians Commonwealth participation. now 'iCCfm, in retro~_
bow to soh'e their own internal problems. \\bether
peel to be a major failure of British colonial policy.
22 THE LEGON OBSERVER • 13 February 1970
Nigeria itself or from its High Commission here lands for fannins. free of cbarge to the fanncr1. Dr
must be submitted with all such applications. Safo-Adu also slated that i.n order to ensure the farm-
ers ability to c-'tpand their farms. the sovemment had
Khartoum .Jan. 13 already started to see tracton and other fannin,
East aDd Centrol African Hcads
implements to them.
The Heads of State of the East and Central Afri-
can States arc scheduled to mect here on 26th Accra, Jso 17
January to discuss trade among their countries, as
Nigerian's Sovereign Prerogatives
well as Rhodesia and Britain's attitude thereon, and
Mr Maurice Foley, Minister specialising on Africa.
the status of countries in African that still remain
yesterday reminded the British House of Common.
colonies, particularly in southern Africa.
that Britain must recognise that it was the Nigerian
Accra Jan. 23 Federal government's responsibility to handle the
N.A.L. Writ agaiD'rt Minister. aftermath of the civil war. He was supported by
Dr. Obed Asamoah, barrister-Member of Parlia- formed Consentative Premier Sir Alec Douglas-
ment fOf Biakoye constituency in the Volta Region, Home. who said Britain must confuse its concern
bas today filed a writ at the Supreme Court registry about suffering and relief with the responsibility for
in the name of the National Alliance of Liberals the conduct of affairs witbin Nigeria.
against the Minister of Local Administration. Mr
K. K. Anti, over the appointment of local government Accra Jan. 28
management committees in the country. The party The Late Dr Danquab
seeKs by this action a declaration that "the appoint- Prime Minister, Dr K, A. Busia bas today announced
ment of new management commillees to administer the appointment of a cabinet committee to arrange
the affairs of local and municipal councils is incon- for the final funeral rites of the late Dr J. B. Dan-
sistent with or in contravention of the Constitution quab. revered Ghanaian lawyer. philosopher and
of Gbana, and is therefore null and void." It also patriot, and for the establishment of a fitting merna--
seeks an order setting aside the appointment of the rial to him,
said new management corrunittees.
Freetown Jan. 14 Aecra Jan 29
Sierra Leone Joins Relief Operation Vo!ja Dam RcscHlemcoc Prog.ess
Premier Siaka Stevens last night announced that Fifty-two resettlement towns for 80,000 persons m the
Sierra Leone was contributing 10,000 pounds sterling four years sinee the implementation of the Volta
to Nigeria's relief fund, and would continue to do Dam project is the government's progress record so
whatever it could to relieve the postwar situation. far, according to sources close to the V,RA.
Dar-cs-Salaam, Jan. 26
President Tito's Visit
The President of Yogoslavia. Marshall Josef Tito,
today began a state visit to Tanzania which is consi-
dered to underline an identity of views between the Wanted Immediaiely
two Presidents and their two countries, according to
the newspaper, the Nationalist, mouthpiece of the by Legon Observer
ruling TANU Party. The paper said the c1osenes~
betwccn the views of the two was explainable mast
of aU by their "cherished commitment. .. to indepen-
dent initiatives in the socialist transformation of their Administrative
societies,"
Lusaka Jan. 17 Officer
Pledge to Oust Wbite Rule
A spokesman for the Zimbabwe African Peoples
Union (ZAPU) announced here yesterday that two Qualifications: Good education-preferably up
South African and Rhodesian African nationalist to University level. Knowledge of journalism
movements have re-affirmed their military alliance,
whose aim is the eventual overthrow of white rule in will be an advantage,
southern Africa.
Salary: Negotiable. but not less than NCl720.00
Tamale, Jan. 27 p,a. depending upon knowledge and expe-
Ghana Government and Agriculture rience. Appointment will be on trial basis
Dr. Kwame Safo-Adu. Minister of Agriculture m
in the first instance.
the Progress Party gO"emment of Ghana. stated in
Tamale yesterday that over the past five years the
government had bought and otherwise s pen t Applications, stating age, qualification and
NC26.000.000 worth of agricultural equipment. Dr e~perience, should be sent to TIlE
Safo-Adu was addressi.ng a meeting of Northern EDITOR, Legon Obff!rvf!r. P,O. Box 1 t,
Region farmers here at the time. Legan without delay.
Among other things. be said his government was
looking into questions such as a revised loan scheme
in favour of farmers and the clearing of agricultural
13 February 1970 THE LEGON OBSERVER 23
Starting in business or industry?
Already established and expanding?
awaitsyou
at
Barclays
Bank
... . . MISS..V .AYERH »..
::~:~::
'.' .
,.:.;.;.:.;.:.;.:.:.;. .': ':
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Street branch,ln Accra. She joined Barclays over eight years ago, starting as .] clerk
when she was nineteen, and now holds her present specialism job o( dealing with
etchange transactIons, VidOfia's favourite sport Is netball, and she /ikes reading
fOf relaxation.
Miss Ayerh welcomes customers with Foreign Exchange business 10 transact, and
whether it In'lo/ves Sterling, D-MarJf.s Of Dollars, Francs, Kroner or Pesetas-
they find she has lite ne~s$a,y Imow/~ge and sIVII at Mr fingertips.
\\~lH1thcr :rotu' business is large or many ways. And always in the spirit of
small. the comprehensive facilities of helpful service.
B.:trclays aro at your disposal. Current Accounts, Deposit Accounts,
'Vith its progressive outlook .. . its Savings Accounts, Standing Orders,
"\ville experience of banking in Ghann. ... Foreign Exchange, Bills and
its connections with the City' of London Documentary Credits, Money Transfers,
nnd tho whole world ... its network of Travellers' Cheques, Business AdVice,
morc than 60 branches thl'oughout Status Reports, Investment Advice,
Ghan:l, Bm'clays can assist you in so Insurance Arrangements.
BARCIJAYS BANK
At the service of Ghana's trade & industry
24 THE LEGON OBSERVER 13 Pcbi .,.
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VOL V No.5 27 February-12 March 1970 Price lSnp
/I rHI. ISSUE EDlrlRlAL
THE GREAT PURGE
DISMISSED Flv~ lR1I'fDIlm and sixty eight public servants, of varying
status positions. have had their appointments revoked by
PUBLIC tAe IOvernment. Actually, this dramatic exercise is in line wita a provision in the country's Constitution which
deals witlt the appointment and dismissal of public .crvants.
SERVANTS Altltoup t.1tlfe is DO official list yet, people affected
are believed to Tan!e over a wide spectrum-from heads
of departments and of corporations. to (it is said)
m"'C!'lel'!
t..DITORlAL 1 Any Darrow interpretation of the motives of the
The Great Puqe &oventDlent would be really a blunder. Apparently one
~ caaaot state positinly that the officers have been retrenched
because of party affiliation-some of the officers affected
lSSA COMMUNICATION 2 by tao order are alle,ed to be card·carrying members of
; The Cue of the Oi'lmiuala Ute rulin, Pro&"ess Party. It is reassuring to Dote that the
day! of crude political victimization of public servants are
mE LAW • about over.
TIte efficiency of a public servant. like his producti-
Slow Ju,tiee-An lntroduction to a
vity. is. however. DOt very easy to measure. There are
Problem
many complicatin! imperatives in bureaucratic structures
E. S. Aidoo which are not easily appreciated by outsiders: thus. civil
servants tend otten to suffer through public ignorance of
EDUCATION \3 the difficult conditions in which they work. But certainly
... libraries in Ghana's Schoob and there has been an urgent need to restructure the public
Training Colleles services. in order to make fuller use of the resources of
L. H. Ofosu-Appiah the rising generation. One understands the type of status
anxiety which this need has generated. especially among
OBSERVER NOTEBOOK the older segments of the public service personnel.
International VIPs in Afnca However. in line with the need for new ideas. it ' Is
R.I.P. Kaleidoscope incumbent on the part of the government to create the
The Black Stars-and-Sudan Malt , atmosphere whereby no group or groups of people would
regard themselves as indispensable, especially if there is
LETl'ERS 21 evidence of deliberate non-eo-operation" or obstructionist
Afro-Americans and Africa tactics in the operation of governmental machinery.
These Promi~! Honesty is another vexed dimension. especially in a
Explainina Government Policies community where people would want to have supporting
Uncdifyina Newspaper Attacu evidence to back any such charges of dishonesty. If any of
The Compliance Order (2)
Miss Hereward and Western tbe public servants had been found to be dishonest. one
Liberalism hopes that such members bad been informed to this
The Observer Lanluale effect, with specifications which are more detailed than a
mere statement informing them that their services arc no
longer required.
CORRECTION Efficiency. honesty. hard work, loyalty-these are
In Dr. Abbey's article in our last iSlUe
(LO. V/4), for "NCSO.OOO" on p.6, left very lofty ideals upon which to build a healthy. responsl.
column. read ble public service; and the nation has a right to expect
these of its servants-irrespective of the ieCtors of public
....... ",
..... w .. 4
111ft. And
IIID ... 'f I' "fib 2"
.... II ...., ...
We1l b a" you ,.. ... now OQJ aur
SaI'.7.7 .....V _OiCh• • -uaN~"
wi. mil. you • piaI.1 In,... own
(WI"""
Wo-.'IIU __
I.I». .." d".' "_ t _c_.. Ipt Uf uI n. ..
.. ·c ..... twin 1IngI' De film
.II. 1.4M ... til vaur dll~11ptMi won ', '-to II " ..... _~? d.n. ... ofcaurMl __
IIod -.
PDlM IAJA.
us ..... I. r ,
da tor-.
, 9Lu~
...." 19'10 nmlFOON
17
rule ..y be ..x ed by aIJowiDg ref. .....c e employ more staff to organise scboollibrarics. and
~kI 10 be builO.cd occ: ..i oDaDy. 10 assisl in training clerks for the routine work ill
The 1M we, "WI that 37 out of 80 rapooding the libraries.
acbooIs and 30 out of 56 reporting The Ministry of Educatioa should also em-
COIJr.gM IICt aside special library periods ploy librarians in all the regions to ICC • that
a week OIl the timetable. During sucb periods boots are available for schools and colleges. A
..' " "tcwJ ...t s .00t UDd. .. the supervision of special vote should be set aside for libraries in
foam mesters. fotm misbesses or the libra· all cducational institutions. and elemaItary
.... t. wbiIe some read on their own. OIIIy councs in librariaosbip should be llartcd in
obo .. cd that the Iibrariaos or =lain training coUeges. Graduate teacben
supervison use some parts of the periods 10 wbo are inlelcsted in b"brary ..o tt sbouJd be
bow to use libraries aod 10 care for giv... study leave to qUllify as librariaos; and
But .inoe very few stud ...t s mow much all Board. of Governors. as far as po ..i ble,
the boots on their subjects or bow 10 should iuclnde librarians. Old stud ...t s sbouJd
laformatioa for themselves. guidance is endow b"brary funds in all the resions.
during the b"brary period. It is very For the 1970's ..e musl emph. .i se univer.l
thaI filSt year stud. ..t s should be culture. whicb is transmitted throush books. ..
the use of library material. thaI we can have a generation which wiD por.
tray Gbanl·. culture ill the way in wbicb th.
I .... Ace 01 Ancienl Gr..... pot b ayell theirs IIIIougb boots.
the plaslic and graphic arts. and gymnastics.
.In most IICbooIs the b"brary is opec during Th. Ministry of Education could then emlnce
hours. hul become 01 a lack of super· the Greek conception of Mousite and {)thiN. ..
stsfI they are closed aft... school hours. like. i.e. culturel Above aD. individual (jhona.
few • """Is. ho........ opec until 'nighl iaos should contribute to a fund for
poriocI. Wh. ... b"braries have no clats. ....b ljsbillS b'braries ill aD puts of. Ghl"", Tho
Cd'" ~1GI1Iy are obliged to use I. .. her firsl lown to do so bas b, .. aDd il
or prefects. they are opeoed for only is hoped that citizens of Gh"no wbo han good
few hours during and after school bours. cbMr. ..• • boots to spare will help ill this ..t. ..-
for bOllowing and rctuming beats. In ture to mike readms: a DeCC!l.ry put of our
.. hooIo and co\lo g s. slud ...t s have very educali"".
ICC HI 10 library facOIties. Th. number 01
they 4: od in th. b"brary accord.
10 !be flee ti"", they are aBowod during Observer ~ ofeboolc
boon; IIId .iDoe aD !be buildings are
up after school boun. stud ...t s CODDOt ....·do I VIPs .. AfIka
the b"braries. Tbose critics of boarding THE RANGE in variety among the reollODS ",hich
~ooIs who come from countries with good being world figures visiting 10 Africa tbe.e days
libraries mighl mot. a DOte of this point. is amply illustrated by the variety of the involv·
slop",,'" IrduriD& Gh,_j,., OIl the DO: c sity ed Very Importanl Penons tb< ....e lv. .. The con·
lUi"" our inatilUlions into day ochMls. trasts in motivatioll and the speculative polen•
. Tbe .. come for dnstk changw in the tia1itieo SUSiPled by Ibe coil. of tbrcc sucb "-
IIId povil.", of b"braries for our as U Than!, MarshaD Tifo and U.s. Secretary
.iaa:ttitdtW .... A. • tint step the of State RLg " ell. .. a fa...m.ting st"dy. ill the
Uhnry Bnud sbooJcI be 81i1i"'" more conte:lt of Africa'" 1m_led po1iticaI coaditioll
tto"'Y for emDplUoymin_g MaR and for combined with its cb"IenPI ecoaomic ptoba. the of cbMrm's libraries in bilitiea. And if to th .... illdividuab ]00II add the
the .esions. Tho aim sbooJcI be to han a Pope aDd his (earlier) entourage. laps" .. ' trade
library ill ",a, _ IIId YiIlagc ",be. . mjssions. UId the DeY« NliDa 10. .' of forop
iI • • hoot. The Minjstry ,leonid let "ide apea tI of ODe kjnd or ""OIber. at. visible picture
01. the nw'K)' II it OIl dancm for tile bECOmes complete 1bc iDviIible impIiatiolls are
01 IInrico for II1II 1/111. .... who Ioaft bowe .. er. quite aDOdIer a.tta'. •
, rei I ... befOie dIM.,. b=c"w u Every 01lIO of these per"'" and groups repro-
I A" Uatildle I 'e., ·h. .... _II a dil"'+ct IIId id ...t illable illterest, wbicb
..... <*l oAlq 1*" I Wi pi to d~ Fa.. M, 3I1d" is DO lbOie
'.. I) ..r d sbcadd be hell" ~ 10 than to poiat, with apolosiea. to the ..........
~
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BOEING FAN JET LUXURY SERVICE TO ,
NAIROBI- ENTEBBE -OAR ES SALAAM
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INFORMATION nod RESERVATIOM
III Cocoa Houst, LlMrt,. A Yeoue
P.O. DOl: 3600, Ar:ua T~1. 1135'
•
J'
•
se,.ve,.
FortlugbUy Orpo of tbe ugon Society on Na!;oDOII ABZlrs
Vol. V No.6 13-26 March 1970 Pria ISa,
I. rHII ISSUE EDITORIAL
SHOULD FREEDOM BE "GUAJU>ED"?
GOVERNMENT IN HIS speech on the eve of the anniversary of what has come to be known in Ghana as the Glorious Revolution.
Dr. K. A. Busia, the Prime Minister, reminded us once
AND THE "ABUSE again that freedom, restored to us from the tyranny of
Kwame Nkrumah by the gallant self-sacrifice of the army and
OF FREEDOM" the police on 24th February 1966, goes with responsibility. He then hinted, darkly, that its licentious use may lead to
its curtailment, at any rate for those who abuse it. To drive
home his point. Dr. Busia referred particularly to freedom
of speech, and gave examples of what in his opinion consti-
EDITORIAL tute its abuse. He said:
Should Freedom be "Guarded"? ... Some people are behaving as if the freedQ01 of
THE ECONOMY 2 speech carries no responsibility. They parade the streets
in party vans hurling insults and abuse at others in
Economic Implications oC the
Aliens' Order vulgar language; tbey mount platforms to spread
A. N. Hakam inciting and false rumours, because they do Dot care to
take the trouble to find out the facts; they make false
POLITICS 6 accusations, designed to destroy the reputations of
Free Speech: A Brief Comment Q.,n others-all of which are capable of provoking fights
an Ambiguity - and even riots. That is not how to take counsel for
J. E. Wiredu the state. It is the wrong use of freedom. It is against
Ingredients of an African Ideology - the spirit of the Revolution.
The Strength of African Culture It will be appreciated that those in authority Owe it
Oburoni Muntu as a duty to the nation to guard against the abuse of
DDSERVER NOTEBOOK freedom. We therefore intend, henceforth, to dischdfge 10
that duty unflinchingly, and we trust that all citizens
Congratulations, MISTER Ian Smith
The Uni\'ersity Congregations who wish to make responsible use of our freedom w
A Plea for tbe Employee will co-operate with us.
Freedom of speech is a basic right, and we must
LEITERS 13 guard and use it responsibly, as indeed we must do in
"Africn's Unstable Governments" our use of all the other freedoms. Freedom must always
be exercised with a sense of responsibility.
The Purge in the Public Services
Everyone wouJd share tbe concero of the Premier about
Legal Aid in Ghana his catalogue of abuses against freedom, and would agree
Shortcomings of Intellectuals that it is healthy to reiterate the dictum tbat "freedom must
Ghana's Lost Culture is Revi,ed be exercised with responsibility". But we would in turn
remind the government that hypersensitivity to the practices
Our Culture, Tradition and Foreign
recited above may lead to acts by the government that
Visitors
may be potentiaUy corrosive of tbe freedom of us aU. The
Africa and Western Values celebration of the coup is meant to be a perpetual remmder
Jc.ho\':lh's Witnesses and the Millennium of the tortuous steps to dictatorship taken by Nkrumah's
successive governments, all with the repetitive justification
BOOK REVrEW 15 that it was the "sacred duty" of the government to "guard"
OBI (African Writers Series. No. 45) the greater freedom of the state. And it must be admitted
RC\'icw by H. M. J. Truten3U that Nkrumah's government had better excuses-the inci-
dents of bpmh-throwings, arson and alleged p10ts against
18 the security of the state--than vague abuses and alleged
3
,IeM 7"'&Witor ..... of unempIo)dlCIil would taIao force tW
.+a s"'11 on the a. ..g e no indigenous unemployed to take over even the
.. _ unit of COIUumption. Thus. most dlCIiial and undesirable of sueb jobs. Thus
• oM 6 live unit ill the aggregate there may be a obort·term loss of production.
equation of the country. but this will soon be remedied by the equilibrlllll!
II euy to UDderstand. since it is assumed of demand and supply for jobs.
.. iii ""p\oyal penon bas to eat to subsist That leaves the skilkd. technical aod higher
1_ dial a portion of what be eats is of imported level labour or manpower. The ll"vemmenl
therefore. it is also implied that there is policy is clear on the fact that sueb labour it
oniDs OIl foreign ""change cost Moreover. not affected by the Aliens' Act and it is intended
I,::p asoo in the country represents a cost in that sueb labour obould remain in the country of medical. educational. and other social for the time being. This is significant and the
I. that are provided free by the goveroment. government policy makers realize it. For. a skill-
ed labour represents years of costs to the
D~ Clud VaempIo)ii Ft economy in terms of education and special
training. Moreover. if the special training and
WhaI it comes to the marginally employed education is acquired abroad, the country would
force. those in petty trade. seasonal agricul. have benefited. by the immigrant. by the ..m e
employment and part·time work in general. amount that it would have cost her to educate
COIt.benefit becomes more difficult to analyse. and train such labour. It is assumed that such
';e are dealing with the underemployed labour is highly productive; in other words. the
Jud the disguised unemployed labour force. Two marginal productivity of such labour is weU
obould be mentioned here. One is that above ODe average unit of labour production.
Jeoc:h unit of labour so employed does not repre· Immigrant skilled workers may also stimulate
a full unit of average production. In other the economy by bringing into the country special
"'>nII. the marginal productivity of such labour skills acquired abroad, but whieb may be diffi·
be anywhere between zero and one unit; cult to acquire in Ghana.
likely. closer to zero. This means that the
of such labour from the labour force Forelga Skilled PersonMI
DOt affect productivity very much in the
economy. and would again resu)t in savings Against these benefits foreign skilled workers
tams of costs of consumption and services. may repatriate a portion of their income. thus
The other point is tbat certain part·time and causing some loss of the valuable foreign ex~
employment, particularly in the agri. change resources of the country. The other
sector. may not be easily substituted by question which may be asked is : to what extent
labour. at least in the obort run. For does the large scale employment of foreign skiD.
Ghanaian. may not fill the menial jobs ed labour affect the prospect of employment of
by aliens because of certain traditional those Ghanaians who are educated yet un-
towards such jobs. However. the pres· employed? This problem could arise if the coun-
of tmetIIployment would probably force try's pace of educational dC\''Clopmcot continued
most stubbotll unemployed workers to to accelerate far more rapidly than the real
positions below their original expectations. growth of the economy. Another question which
partIoJ aolution to the agricultural problem also arises here is whether educated Ghanaians
be to po mit aeasonaJ migration to the (i.e. those who have at least completed a secon·
farms from sucb countries as Upper dary scbool education) are the equivalent of
this is done. for instance. in the United skilled Ghanaians. For. it may still take several
whicb pel mils seasoooJ agricultural work· yesn to make such educated youth to acquinl
110 come from Mexico aod to mIke such the specialiux! skills presented by the foreigner.
""""' to their COtmb ies at the end of In other words, un"'s • great degree of IUbstj.
• ~ ICh'ice. tutibility betweea eduQlted Gh.nai.ns and-
on•. . e,.t.a". type of 10"- is !be ,mskUIed. but for. skiDed peI_nel ""ists. the man ""put. 5~. lot. ... Th e wiD be DO loa to sion of foreip *illed Iobour can cause serioua
it I ... ell IatwM • by hom = t. ill &be proch"Ctioa p«ell of die
fKwa tbe nob of. 1be -illi. ~.
n.s ,• • ' .... a. 8m. . oirvb" IN' era c:oaId be recomm. .w d-
•
13 MardI 1970 TIlE LEGON OBSERVER s
"
•
•
.JIt __ _ ro ec
ur
ro er
•
a aiDS
.. FIRE!
oed the possibility that your
)!hs to build , 10 ' 15 years to
'nlsh could be destroyed by
. .... 1\.1\ t::::; {
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•
13 March 1970 THE LEGON OBSERVER 7
threat to free speecb. So far. so splendid! tions of some of bis belpers. Already tbe indica-
10 and behold. the politician lapsed back tions are that the theme of "responsible" use of
the offending theses. (Still in paraphrase): freedom might become in certain Progress circles
of speecb did not mean that people a weapon wherewith to smother politically un-
go about making abusive, mendacious and cherished self-expression. Dr. Busia would, there-
speecbes. It was only such·lik:e fore. bring great relief to many people if he
usage of free speech that he was unaltera- could soon amplify his phrase. Such leadership
determined to clamp down upon. WOUld, most likely, cause lesser stars in the
Alas. it was clear that in spite of an apparent Progress firmament to radiate more brilliant light.
of general motivation, the logic of the
Finally. to all highly placed persons wbo might
was still lost upon the V.J.P. The point
be inclined to consider this too much ado
that citizens of Ghana are now fully appm:ed, ab.o. ut no.t hing much, the followincr " ............. 1 :-bitter experience, of the inclemencies of life
_. . ~ .. Vl ~lHuce bite; for
even so humble an apparition might precipitate
.... O'un::; U.l terror IS gone and. it is hoped, gone
ever. It is a fact, nevertheless. that without imageries of poison~infested adversity. This, at
[auDin where near the heights of Nkrumaist any rate. is one of the wise teachings of our
forefathers.
there is a lot that the political
of a government can do in the arbitrary
of the freedom of speech. The matter
therefore. quite serious.
Safeguarding Freedom
Unfortunately. the Prime Minister has recently
(zrulde a cryptic remark which, if left unelaborated
long. is likely to boost up the unpropitious
of some high functionaries of the
When, on the occasion of the
anniversary of the February 1966 r;oup.
Ithe Prime Minister said that his government
would take steps to safeguard tbe free speech
lI'estored to us by the coup against irresponsible
:usage. that form of warning contained a crucial
IRIDbiguity which calls for urgent unravelJing. u
~ven politically open minded observers might be
'uDsure as to which of the following two possible
:interpretations holds. The admonition could -
•
!mean that the government might, contrary to the
!COnstitution, be contemplating executive redress now lo~allp m'U1uf"dllr~~ br
Ifor the "abuse" of free speech. Or it might mean ...e tal
;merely that, having, perhaps, come to the induc- industrie!lt
tive conclusion that even the most finely conceiv-
Ix1 moral declamations are likely to be forever division
~. ted, upon hardeoed fanatics, the government
~ gomg to encourage the law enforcement agen- GIHOC
CIeS of the state to give full rein to the rigours S'3<11!S a""ilablq
of the law. B.\V.~. lS,t.,· L3,,~. & .. z
contad" .!I"'ur rN'a.rqM bca.Wr. or malu
Dr. Busia is a man of intellectual cultivation .\iryrl ntquiriu to:
ad serious democratic purpose. Unless one is M ... D
wry much mistaken, his meaning must be in
w-r..ont with the second, more constitutional. inter- P.O. BOI 1009 . TIl. 23040
pctatiOD. But be must be aware of the limita- ACCRA I
•
13 March 1970 THE LEGaN OBSERVER 9
neighbouring peoples marked out their bounda- threat to the safety of some 300 Europeans m
ries and lived in peace with only occasional the eastern Congo that they felt obliged to
quarrels. The remarkable effectiveness of what mount a great airplt to get them out. Many
might be called the Peace of the Inner Zone of of the Africans at the United Nations at the
Africa, maintained by a delicate balance of time behaved no more sensibly, it is true,
custom elaborated balf-unconsciously over talking wild nonsense about the Western coun-
many centuries, seems not to have been ade- tries wanting to kill all Africans; but on balance
quately appreciated by histodans. But even it was probably the Westerners who won the
today, it is evident, if one looks at the facts, prize for absurdity that time.
that Africans are among the least violent of If we are to examine ourselves seriously,
peoples. Where else in the world have over assessmg our own potentialities, our strengths
thirty countries attained independence ill a and capabilities, .~.. rp!';omize that,
bare decade with as little bloodshed as here? somehow, deeply,
· Where else do political upheavals and coups African culture, i
d'etat occur with as few lives lost? we conduct our affairs. there is an OUlSli:U". .... o
Africa's Relative Peace capacity for containing diversity without dis-
ruptive violence. This is a truly African gift. for
The countries which get most into the news, there is nothing like it in any part of the world
such as Nigeria, are the exceiltions. Nigeria as large as sub-Saharan Africa or inhabited by
,does have a pattern of violence, manifest in as many peoples; and it has been developed in
everyday liCe as well as in the current inler- specifically African conditions of diversity in
:ethnic strifc. But even in Nigeria. in most parts the absence of geographical protection of one
· outside the former Eastern Region. life was in people against another. Our peoples have pro-
the past relatively peaceful. Among all the tected themselves by cultural means.
: hundreds of peoples living south of the It is not a matter of belief, for there is no
· Sahara, it is only among the Ibos and the Zulus tradition here that violence as such is wrong; it
that one finds conflict habitually expressed by is a matter of culture, of the way of life that
· bloodletting. The most extraordinary fact of African peoples follow. We can find clues to it
· recent Afdcan history, the signjficance of which in ACrican laughter. in African music and
· was appreciated by nobody at the time, as far dancing. and in African distaste for intermina-
as I recall (and which has not been realised ble quarrels. If there is any real meaning in the
since. either) is that when the Congo fell into
idea of an "African personality". this is where
disorder soon after its independence and its it lies, and it is a far more precious gift than
soldiery went rampaging up and down the
any of the superficialities with which that ex-
country, although many European women were
pression was associated in the past.
raped in revenge for the humiliations which
Congolese had cxperienced for two or three The components of this gift can be examined
generations, not one European was killed! In more closely subsequently. Thus, an important
what other part of the world than tropical ingredient of an African ideology is:
Africa would it have been possible in such The greatest and richest strength of Afri-
conditions of disorder for not one single repre- can life is its capacity for avoiding violent
sentative of a deeply resented. caton ising nation conflict between diverse but neighbouring
to have lost his life? peoples.
It is characteristic of the crazy fantasies
which have dominated African political affairs
during the past two decades that Europeans,
perhaps out of some sense of guilt for past Ghana 1970
misdeeds. have managed again and again to
frighten themselves nearly out of their wits with
the spectre of African violence, when that via·
]ence was virtually non-existent. A few years Census: are
ago. indeed. the Western powers, having succe-
eded in slaughtering their own peoples at an
•
average rate of over a million a year during the you Counted?
preceding balf-century. managed to work them-
selves into such a state of hysteria over a
3 Man:b 1970 TIlE LEGON OBSERVER II
BOEING FAN JET LUXURY SERVICE TO
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INFORMATION and RESERVATIONS
11 t Cocoa House. P. O. Box 3600. Tel. 22356. Accra.
CARGO SPACE ON EVERY FUGHT
AIR LUJTES
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lS/l,."
ud dIewbere. _ing appredato it if you would be load moup to publish
if .. welcome ch.nge. and this letter in your ateemcd journal to oorrect the
wronl impiusion.
.. To tbc _t we do it in Gblna at
HIP c-' I. .. '" ...... v ......" "'. ..
kiKlw this to be 10, in fact. P.O. __ W..-.... Seue."
GUr towna are comparatively and, for A ....
pupa .. in hand, also relatively
It would be easier to bave aU shops closed
two afternoons and opal on two evenings. "!be Parae lD .... Public Senrica
sIIop workers "'emselves can continue to SrR-After six month. in office, Dr. Busia's lovern-
haH-day off on another and separate ment is reported to have undertaken a widespread purse
during which they can go to the banks, the of the public services by tenninatina the appointment.
off_ and the government departments of 568 people. Our public service hat not been as lood
course. as one could expr<:t, and there is no doubt that • (Of to make the banks on time the certain reorganisation has been necessary since Nkru·
"". woukl have to close at noon, which is not mab's overthrow; but one never expected that the
the case at the moment.) exercise would be 10 massive.
AJj for tbc ahop keepers and attendants them· No rea~nable per~on would deny any employer the
doing their own shopping, we hope they right to dispense with the services of sucb of his
be taken care of: (a) partly by internal employees as he has evidence to prove to be inefftcient
tnlD within their own establishments. and di shonest. But as far as we bear, the victims of
partly by their making use of already existing this purge were not queried. warned, or given the oppor"
tunity to disprove possible allegations against them.
admittedly not altogether adequate) Rules have been laid down for such an e~erci~, and
F~::~ and (e) partly by special leave granted the least one would have e~pected of the: govemment
p by the boss! This is not the fu II was a s"upulous re .. pcct for, and strict application or.
completely satisfactory answer to their these rules and procedures.
jrobleJ" of "serious" shopping raised before. As matters stand now. Dr. Busia and his supporters
perhaps a better solution can be found, or in and out of parliament will have to think of thoso
Iron exists already. But at least it is a pointer whom they have deprived of their means of livelihood.
tbe possibilities of compromise; otherwise. the And is there a surer way of politici'ing the ci\'il seryicc -
scheme is the only answer, complete thall by showing civil servants that they hold office only with
at the whims and pleasure of politicians who. after all,
complex of irregularities and its loopholes are only " birds of passage"? The only "ifferenee r see
for the creation of irregularity. between Nkrumah and 8usia on this point is that the
present these suggestions for the serious former did such things piecemeal by One-O'clock radio
early consideration of our government, the announcements. whereas Busia has achieved the same
5el'Vice. all our business houses, employers. stroke through a cumulative shock on one Monday
morRing.
proprietors. and the T.U.C.
And. by the way, did the Busia go\"ernment consider
all the aspects of this exercise in relation to the morale
or those who still remain in ;he public services, and
the inlpact on those Ghanaians abroad who are being
invited to come home? I have spoken to a number of
compatriots here who have adopted a wait-and-see alii·
tude reEaroing their return home, and r now see that
• thdr hesitation is understandable in some respects. Dr.
)IIIl-.MJ,y I i""ite your kind attention to a letter under
Busi. must certainly not have forgotten that the right
caption MAfrica', Un.tablc Governments", published
to work is one of the fundamental liberties of men in
Ihc 011 he (Vol. V I") of February 13. 1970.
civilised society.
You c:onapondent bas obviously been mislo;l by a
report taken out of context. Te put the matter But, perhaps. to make virtue out of nccu-uty, one
.... Wheel peUIO"1ivc. I mould lite to state thilt in may say thai Ghana is after all lucky to have a govern.
counc 01 • ,eneral udtanle of views, there were ment whose members are 10 absolutely certain of their
to 1M common faith of Ghana and India eftidency, honesty and devotion to duty that they have
... ,III' sntary form 01 d waracy .... lbeit not hesitated to cut the: tint stODC. Let these qualities
• 7 adrsti ., _i'cH dn. ..c aalic princi,.. and, be trantlated into dlective action as IW)On as poSlible .
... , 7 ., • • 4 h. of !be Deh. don eoquired for we are sliD waitiDa to ICC the first bqinninp of
.. 01 peIitiQI h 7 Wlity ... ... ' ..r ts of a Itftuine tocial tftobltioo in Ghana t.Kd on mete
.......... ..., aD ••d ry tor WOiIi_1ion and
_ .. ... • villLei with wbidt. our lovemment claims to be 1.~1IIr a"P" til .., CCIPUY .1I+4t •
.. .., .. IS 2 k , 75 a "2511 C I P. A. V." t
.. N g' , I 7 II ...W If • Cs Ix'
2 [ n 'brZ , ....., .,., .. I 2 ••• 1.
•
14
L £*1 AN Ia c;a.. • was uaed for -aM .de" widell ....." '.<
batioo, and. poIIibIy 0."«1. . ..
SIR-Mr. D. K. Aireh lOY' (LO. VIf, POI. 4) "in 10, it would aPl' r that L V4'
Ghana the only form of lcpt aid in' actual operation. towns have not acqn.i. .... 111. ." h_.
is the assigned brief system in murder cases. An indi-
not enti<dy certain of !hi&: it would IIiII ..
gent appellant in criminal cases may :lIsa be supplied to look into it.
with the record of proceedings free of charge. But If students lobby into positioal on the
apart {r(tm these cases there is no legal aid", I am
students inflate tho capabilities of other
not sure that he is right.
applicants for Hall posta merely to arqaire tenll.
Section 17 of the Courts Decree. 1966 (N.L.C.D. 84)
selfish ends; if ltudeots chOOlC to create
surely gives legal assistance to any appellant or respon-
partisanships merely for tbe love of it; it •
dent in aD}' appe.:l.J where the Court thinks it desira-
student-officials of tbc National Union of ()hane
ble in the interest of justice? Also, Order 68, rule 2,
dents get involved in the misuse of group ...G Ol,....,if
authorises the Court to dispense with payment of fees.
these things do happen. then we sh.1I have to
by poor persons. 1t says that the "Court mayan account
"collectivc responsibility towards natiunal roc"",,,.
of the poverty of any person Of for other sufficient
reasons, to be stated in the minutes. dispense, if it tion"; for the fear is that sum behaviour maY'
taken into national life.
thinks fit, with the payment of any fees", In the light
If studenu of such deviant behaviour were
of these provisions I think the scope af legal aid given
to go free, it would mean condoniq undesirable
by our State is wider than your corerspondent has seen.
haviour with our ill-consequences for the nation:
And all of this aid is "in actual operation'!
national investment in education would be lOll;
lfowcver, if Mr. Mreh meant no more than that these
attempt to refine public morality would fail linee
arc not enough, then of course ] agree with him. It
day's university students are the public men of tw-.,
is time that we had a re:l.lly satisfactory legal aid and
row.
advice system in this country.
Incidentally, why does Mr. Mrell. remember "with Therefore, •
regret and sorrow the unfortunate statement of the ''Fashion it thus-that wbat he is, aUIID=ted.
late Sir Arku Korsah, who. when rejecting an applica· Would run to these and these extremitiCl;
tion ..., said the State was not bound to give legal And there~ore think him as a serpent', CU,
aid to a person accused of an offence against itself"? Which. hatc:h'd would as bis kind grow misdllev. ..
We have heard it said so often that "if ever there was And kill bim in the shell."
need for legal aid it was in a treason trial, where the Legoo Han Bu"oM' N--. D ,.
accused is standing trial for his life on ~hat is essen· Leo."
tially a political charge".
But perhaps someone in Mr. Afreh's position would GhaU'1 Lost Calhan: .. Retrie,ed
like to argue this fully for the benefit of the rest of us.
] p::rsonally am not convinced that the late Sir Arku SIR-Thc Ninth Annual Festival of Arts which m"erl
was necessarily wrong. even though my per.sonal sym. in Kumasi recently was a brilliant SUcceSl reIlectiDa
pathies would have led me to a different conclusion the ingenuity of the planners. The effort alto clearly
from what he arrived at. Still. in what sense was the demonstrates _ the present Government'. determiDatioa
State of Ghana then (or indeed in what sense is it to enhance Ghana's culture.
even now) "bound to give legal aid to" any accused The programme was all embracing and noDO of tbe
person? activities failed to draw large numbers of people to
P.O. 80s 119 E. S. Aldoo the Cultural Centre. the wnue for the festival 1'ba.
Ae<ra fortunate to be at the centre were entertained fo unique
traditional drumming and dancing by variOUI danom.
Shortcomings or IDtelleduals groups. Choral concert!. fashion shows and non-deno-
minational church service n:-emphasised traditioDal
SIR- Before the elections which brought the current belief in God.
government into power, the Progress Party was C9nSi. The organisin. committee of this year". fath"a1 01.
dercd as the "intellectuals' party". This idea which Arts headed by Dr. Daane Selby, a private medic:aJ
possibly contains some truth, may still linger in people's practitioner of Kumasi, and Dr. A. A. Y. 1C1'ettiUlt=. .
minds. If the Progress Party is predominantly intellec· Director of the Centre should be eonpatuJated. May
tual, and if intellectual capacity obstructs the smooth the same spirit attend future festivals.
conduct of national affairs, then the Progre" Party P.O. Bos 9 Ie J. GyP 3 I
should have lost the last elections, which was not the Weadll, BI'ODI" Allafa
case.
If the "propagandist" assertion, that the Progress
Oar Culture, n.dldOlll .... "oris v......
Party is predominantly intenectual had prevailed
against the Progress Party, the common belief that the SIR-lbe State Dinner in bonour of the U.s. ·Sect...,.
people of this country do not respect intellectuals would of State rai!lCd lOme fundamental llillel CODCeialq
have been validated. However. we are not certain that traditional Ghanaian culture. Of the huadnda ~ GI..-
the Progress Party won because it is predominantly naian dignitaries invited tell dwt G.3 .... c:eat =_
intellectual. Several other factors operated to produce tnditional dJaa. n. puodoJt '" die -.. II _
its success. Would the nation have cause to regret if the &reatest exponents of Qhe.fen ...... = ..
an "intellectuals' party" won election! in the country? immaculate dinner IUitI. Bwa .... f I,. '. II ..
The word "intellectual", u UIcd durina the last elec- faCt that .,... tradidoad O. '. a1Io ... e " I "i ....
tioRl, wu confusiOJ. One IUlpecU ibM ·"i1'1telledual.'': In fact, all tbat WlIU\21I •• J .. i a ('. ,.~_
•
13 Marth 1970 1HE LEGON OBSERVER 15
opn and his party iii bow biahly westemiud imminent Armageddon has always been part of their
han.j.ns have become. I believe be was biBbly dis- teachings?
'POinled. Concemina the "discon6rmation of prophecy"
The Anny band undoubtedly was &reat, but one would Assimeng demonstrated a Jack of knowledge of the
lve. cxpe<:ted them to concentrate more on local, than methods of academic analysis. One was expecting re-
opt numbcn. Wben they played "Take Five" it levant Quotations from Witnesses' many publications,
bably only reminded Mr. Rogers of Di.xieland; a and from the Bible, to prove to the Telder what dates
t perhaps in New Orleans in his youth. It was not they have successively set for the world's doom and
ty to impress on his mind a state dinner in Accra. how often they have been disappointed. But, as it turned
t is important for us to realize that when foreign out, none was forthcoming. That showed clearly that
'ton come here, they are more interested in our the writer depended on hearsay and on the ill-comments
itional tban a mere stereotype copying of their of the enemies of the Witnesses in arriving at his con-
y of life. I think there is still morc to be o.one in clusions.
office of the Chief of Protocol. It is not too late; the writer can get hold of the •
• BoI; 10 King O.fo relevant publications of tbe Witnesses about 1914, 1975
and any other dates, and make certain about these:
in the end be would find that, say, all that the
Africa Westem Values Witnesses said about 1914 was that it was the end and
of the "gentiles' times" and the "beginning of the times
-I do not wish to fill up your space by answema of the end". Note well that in the history of these
Bosque's angry questions about tennis-stars or tbe Christian Witnesses of Jehovah, (Le. from Jesus' lime)
crican State Department, which I know lillIe about; no spec:ific date for the end of the world has been set
cad 1 wish to comment about Western and Jibe,..1 My aim in this letter is not to make a debated
es, which include freedom to educate. There is also criticism of the writer but to point out the more ob-
om of speech, and of the press, and the right not vious falsifications.
be punished for "the public good" without a chance Lego. p, S. Aboaln'e
defend oneself in court.
esc ideals were developed by the ancient Greeks.
course people who are geographically in the West
1I0t always live up to them., and tbe world is w31tina Book Review
if other peoples can live up to them better. That
wby Africans teach and study Latin, Greek. and
cient History.
tb Ltaoa Daphoe Hernnllrd OBI (AFRICAN WRITERS SERIFS NO. 4S)
B)' lohn Munonye: Heintmann: 1969
Jehovab's WltDeSlt!ll aDd tbe Millennium". Rniew by H. M. J. TruteDaD
-The artiele "Jehovah's Witnesses and the MiUen- ONE question we should like to ask before all otbeD:
m", by Max Assimeng (L.O. VII) failed to convince For wht audience was this book written? Though the
impres.s the unbiased reader. As is the case with answer is by no means clear, one should at least bopo
tics who caption their essays with one theme and that it might be: "First and foremost for Africans."
te on another, Max Assimena: fell '" victim to such Let us look at it from this point of view. In Ghana,
ice. Was the article on the history of Jehovab's if not elsewhere, " the moral remains the writer',
esaa. their unfulfilled prophecies. or the Interna- primary assianment," as Mr. lkiddeh t.U, us in his
I Assembly in Accra? article on "Popular Fiction in Ghana" (Okye:ame IV. 2.
,- ... :.,.1r1l1 bas been largely due to his claim pale 98). What confronts the reader wbo encounteB
.. , ..... the teachings the nm'el in thi. frame of mind?
_..I .Anna are Christian....calbolics, to be exact
. "':_"';*'l2Jlt observation.
pporters of democracy w ..... .
lodle brinp danler and that the involvement u. '--
hU~ _ _ _
lifk men in decision makina is a threat to demo- lOOn becomes clear tt:.al \_ •. _
". Mat is ,be writer's source of information?
more lympathetic to this Chrirtian couple tn. ... _
writer as we11 as Jehovah', Witnesses should find
fault with truly scientific knowledle but shOUld traditional world of the vilhge into which Joe returns,
n to wonder when unprovod theories are labelled with his convent-bred wife, on the fiC3t page of tbe
sc:ientiftc: wbe.n evolution. for instance, is hailed story. He has "made his pile" in tbe outer world • ho.
e "untutored scientist" as proven tt.eory. Such an nestly tnd in ,ovemment ,crvice; but the war has su-
pb..nce shows how danlerous partial knowledge pervened and the draft threatens. so he resigns and
'enee would become. returns to hill "'i1Iage .... ith the best of intentions to
revive his "Obi" (the story continues the preceding novel
k of experience may lead the nO\·ice to suppose
arclt achievements are attained by easy melDod!. The Onl)' Son - Heinemann: 1966), and to take up his
reli.ious proletarianism ... in its pure form" can traditional role in the soci.:tv into which be was born.
substained oYer acneration" by .. the constant streu At the end of the story he has to flee back. intu the
ncam~ of (a calamity) the Armageddon" why larger world. But the author makes this sound like a
have the '"traditional" churcb~ not succeeded in happy ending. in tbe best Holl)-wood tradition: ". , ,
attanpt. since it i, common know~a:e thai the loe and Anna left Umudiobia quietly for Obizi on
•
Maida 1970 TIlE LEGON OBSERVER 17
CENTRE FOR CIVIC EDUCATION
VACANCIES
Applications are invited from suitably qualified Ghanaians for the
following posts in the Centre for Civic Education;
I. PERSONNEL'" WELFARE OFFICER
QUALIFICATIONS:
Applicants must have:
(A) A good degree in the Social Sciences or Business Administration plus a minimum
of 5 years experience in Personnel Administration and Welfare matters in d re-
putable establishment or organisation.
OR
(B) A Diploma in Social Science or Public Administration, plus at least 7 years '
previous experience in Personnel management with ally Institution of good
repute.
OR
(C) A good general educational background at least up to tbe G .C.E. '0' Level or
its equivalent with 10 years' post-qualification practical experience in Person-
Del Management and control in a recognised Institution.
DUI'IES: Will be required to supervise the maintenance of appropriate records and sta-
tistics: to implement the centre's personnel policies and practices relating to recruitment.
salaries. communications. welfar~ matters affecting the Centre's personnel and will be
responsible to the General Administrator.
AGE: Between 30 and 45 years
SALARY: R .S5 i.e. NC2.208-NC2.580.
R .60 i.e. NC2.676-NC3,108.
2. REGIONAL ORGANIZER (MEN'S SECTION) for Greater Accra.
3. REGIONAL ORGANIZER (WOMEN'S SECTION) for Greater Accra.
QUALIFICATIONS: Candidates must:
(a) Have a general educational background. at least up to Teachers' Certilicate 'A'
or its equivalent;
(b) should be of a pleasant disposition,
(c) have initiative. drive. integrity and high sense of responsibility;
(d) have the ability to interest urban as well as rural communities in their civic
rights and responsibilities;
<e) have a good knowledge (oral and written) of Ga and Adangbe.
DUI'IES: A Regional Organizer is responsible for organising the Centre's activities in
the Region. This includes arrangements for meetings. symposia, lectures, debates 3I1d
group discussions. This work involves extensive travelling on duty for which a means of
transport will be provided.
SALARY: R.48 i.e. NC1668-NC1.956 )
R .53 i.e. NC2.04~NC2.388 for Grade IT and (55. 60) for Grade I.
A successful applicant already in this scale will be placed on the appropriate
point in the scale.
AGE: 30·45 years.
GENERAL: Applications (five ""pies) should be addressed to the General Administra.
tor, Centre for Civic Education, P.O . Box M.103, Accra, to reach him not later than 6th
April, 1970. together with copies (not originals) of cerlificat.C9' and lestimonials. Three
rderees should be asked 10 send contidential references direct to the General Administra.
tor. Applicants under bond are meligible. A successful candidate will be required to
conlributc: to the Sneial Security Fund.
March 1970 THE LEGON OBSERVER , 19
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llIE LEGON OBSERVER 13 Mudl
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.....r : J. 1111 A_imaI&; A. ......' hilo"1 Kwame Arhisl anel A. K. P. KliMbe. TrdI.,", J. Pd. Hyde: ,,'1- 51 s ." k_ Ad;
TIll 1I1UYe. ." of Ghana .... its 4c~ts aN ;., DO"" a I S ••l b IIw Leo. 0' ..... &SieOTia1 and an 0IbW is'S
.... ...niIina. .ut-:nDliOll. cliItri.buUOCl qeocy and olber CO'" mal .oq.ur-) Jbould t.. .d4i .. co lbo EdiIOr. 'nil I • 0' i •• '
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Vol. V No. 7 17 March - 9 April 1970 Price 15.
I. rHil ISSUf EDIT'RIAL
MEASURES FOR ABlJNDANCE
FOCUS ON WE share with the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning his concern about the current shortages in tac
supply of certain essential items of consumption; we are
also distu rbed by the collusion that has resulted in the
LEGON hoarding of goods, deliberate inflation of prices, and, in
short. the present suffering of the defenceless consumer.
But while we agree with the Minister on his diagnosis of
the current problems. \ _::: are unable to give him our
EDITORIAL 1 unqualified support for the remedies that he proposes to
Measures for Abundanf.;C' administer.
THE ECONOMY z Two considerations impel us to our present stand on
Manipulalin& the BudicIS the issue of shortages and high prices of essential
J N Se. .. ard consumer items. First. any measure to combat the eVIl of
hoarding and high prices must be directed towards flood-
O\FRICA • ing the market with the goods and services in question .
Rewriting African History? • and it must be seen to be effective for this purpose· There
T K Cannaah is a tendency to have trust in the probability of a ready
and voluntary reaction of entrepreneurs to changes in
11{E L..\W 7 market forces and opportunities that are afforded by a
(ree and competitive market.
Ghana law Reports /
T G. Kane What the Minister docs not appear to fully appreciate
is that we are not operating in a free and competitive
TIlE liNIVERSITIES • market situation. There is every reason to argue that our
I cgon The Fru~lratcd Tnb. present troubles stem as much from the precarious nature
Ma, AUlmcn, of our foreign exchange reserves as from the plethora of
nauseating big and petty monopolies that seem to be
OISf.RVER ~OTEBOOI: 10 endemic in our economy. For, before goods arrive on our
r \e1;uti\c SO\crcl&nty? shores, the processes that are gone through are within
rhe Anll·Onbcry Commission neither the ken nor the means of most would-be importers.
On Gettin, a Passport The import-export business demands certain categories of
, expertise. certain types of contacts between manufacturers .
importers. transporters, financiers and msurance compa-
Tht Facts About Kaleidoscope nies . The few who have these are the same persons who
Libraries and Dancers may and, indeed, can take advantage of the concessions
Ghanaian Culture Rctne\od1 made by the Minister .
Smuggling 201 the Borders But wiJ1 they take advantage of them to the extent
l lnlVChll)' Appeal Funds expected by the Minister? This is the question to which the
\\-nere IS Kontopiaat1
The Obscner Standard (2) Minister should have more seriously addressed himself.
Jf. for any reason, these monopolists believe that taking
lOOK REVIEW 16 full advantage of the concessions will adversely affect the
Village in Uhuru (b} Gabnel rate of their profits in favour of a little more comfort for
Ruhumbika) the co.ns~mer. they may not do so. Arter all, they also
Rc\'iC'\\ed b) Ja"",a Apron!1 have limned resources the rational allocation of whkh is a
major concern for them. If. therefore. they discover that
0 :\ WO\f "f\'HOOD 17 flooding the market with, say, rice is going to hurt the
W«ncn and Ihc Nation general rate of profits, they may indeed decide to shih
("1,ri~tiana 0 Kissicdu
their resources from rice importation to, S8). importation
• ,
•
2 THE LEGON OBSERVER
27 Man:h 1970
of drugs. Indeed. are the new concessions not
too strong a temptation for our present foreign The Economy
businessmen to export profits through the usual
tricks? The chances are that, in this monopo- MANIPULATING THE BUDGETS
listic situation. importation of the items listed by
t:1C Minister may increase. but !flat sufficiently to By
allay appreciably the present plight of the consu- J. N. Seward
mer. THE economic policy of the National Liberation
It is therefore our suggestion that, if the Council had the stated aim of providing a
government is prepared to release foreign "breathing spell". "BreathiDg spell" implies
exchange. as assured by the Minister. then as an rest. We had a rest, but did we enjoy it?
interim measure (i.e. before we are able to Those Ghanaian workers who were thrown
produce, lx ally. sufficient quantities of the goods out of work by the reduced government budgets
concerned). the government should establish a certainly didn't. School leavers who were greet-
machinery charged solely with importation of ed by "no vacancy" signs didn't. These groups
the listed items. This measure need not prevent are still with us, and something must be done to
any businessman from also importing those increase employment opportunities. Deportation
items. The government should. at least. make of aliens may provide some job openings.
sure that the goods are on our shores. It is then, Certainly the massive popular support for the
and only then. that the new system of distribu- measure indicates that many thought of this.
tion proposed by the Minister of Agriculture But, then. most aliens with jobs weren't supposed
may be meaningfully put to the test of practice. to be those who fled . Clearly, increased govern-
Secondly, we cannot fully agree with the ment spending is required if unemployment is
Minister because in the light of what has been to be brought within reasonable limits.
said above, unless some foreign firms participate If this is so. then why were the N .L.e.
in the importation of those items. we are not budgets what they were? We all know the
going to get the goods in requisite quantities. answer to that one. The economy was over·
Allowing them to do so would. however. make inflated. and the balance of payments was oul
the implementation of Part IT of the Ghanaian of kilter. When the International Monetary
Enterprises Decree. 1968. very problematic. Fund was appealed to for assistance, the assis-
- ==- --~ _. -- - - tance was given on condition that a stabilization
Observer Notice programme be pursued. Stabilization implies balanced or surplus budgets and balance or sur-
plus on international account. The N.L.C.
We wish to give notice to our reader· economic policy-makers achieved both of these
writers as follows: objectives. But these didn't make most of us
happy.
I. The Obs~,v~, does not accept syndica-
ted matenal. and rejecls at sight aTiy copy in Scanty Means vs. HappiDess
carbon duplicate. mimeographed form-ex- The IMF is Dot to be blamed. The IMF.
eept official releases from recognised esta-
after all, is a bank. and bankers always insist
blishments-and material in any other forms
that their debtors live within their means. And
of duplicatioD; the N.L .C. is not to be blamed either. The exi-
2. Should we inadvertently publish any gencies of their situation forced them to pass
material which then appears elsewhere, or the message on and make us live within our
which we later discover to have already means. But when one's means are scanty, living
appeared in another publicatiQn, we .hall within them is not conducive to happiness.
put an immediate and permanent ban on all Let's run away from this unpleasant conclu·
ruture contributions from the author or sion and move on to another direction. What do
authors of sucb material; we want? Economic development and more job
3. We remind our writers of our reserva- opportunities. All this is with a view toward
tion of the right to reject overlong manu- increased production and more of the material
ICripts. or to treat them in any way that things of life.
makes them acceptable to our editorial rules. How do we get it? Increased government
speDdiDg is required if more jobs are to be
~7 March J 970 THE LEGON OBSERVER 1
created. The National Service Corps will help debatable. then we will subsidise timber pro-
to alleviate unemployment among the youth, but ducers in one way or the other. The ways are
it means more government spending. This pro- diverse. No import duties on machinery needed
gramme (and others of its kind) will lead to a by timber producers. subsidised rail rates, elimi-
Quickened pace of economic development in the nation of export duty on timber, to name a few .
areas in which it operates. Things are looking a Other exporters should not be affected. since
little brighter already. inflation or no inflation, wage increases will be
kept in line with productivity increases.
But what about the balanced budget? How is
this increased spending going to be financed? Thus. there is no reason for the IMF to be
Where's the money coming from? The financing unhappy, since our foreign exchange outlays
is going to come from the Bank of Ghana, will still be carefully rationed, a bit more wisely
where cedis come [rom. Tax-payers don't create than in the past perhaps. but still rationed.
cedis; it is the Bank of Ghana which does create
We will still be living within the foreign ex-
the cedis.
change constraint, and unless we can do some-
Balanced budgets have been "old bat" for thing to increase foreign exchange earnings.
decades now. Lord Keynes declared them so. they will still be scanty, so we won't be happy.
fhe solution to unemployment problems is de- But by loosening the government purse strings,
ficil budgets. we will get some increase in production. some
reduction m unemployment. and some increase
So far. so good_ We are going to run deficit
in the supply of gO<Xls. SO we should be happier
budgets. and put some of the unemployed
youth to work. But we should not forget. though. Postscript The University of Ghana, among
that we want them to work productively. so other government agencies and departments, has
(hat we can get some economic developmer.t in been hamstrung in its operations by unrealisti-
the process. cally low votes. There is no reason to force
government agencies to operate on overdrafts.
Domestic Inflatron no excuse for forcing highly paid profesSional
men i.e. Finance Officers. who are supposed to
Now. what about the IMF? We are feeling a ~e sp~nding their working days rationalizing the
bit happier, but is the IMF going to like it? The fmanclal programme of their agencies and insti-
IMF lends hard currency. not cedis. They are !utions. to rather become professional beggars
primarily interested in our foreign exchange ,"stead. This is why one sees no excuse. when
earnings vis a vis our import bill . Gentlemen of the Bank of Ghana can provide all the cedis
the IMF have a theory. an economic theory. required to lubricate their agencies. Money has
that says that domestic inHation adversely affects been called a lubricant, and properly so.
the balance of payments, increasing imports and
decreasing exports, Running a deficit budget
promotes inflation. Therefore no deficit budget.
Tbere may be a way out of this one. First of
all. remember we are going to make sure that
those who are PUI to work with the deficit 1970 Population
produce. This will help to increase the supply
of goods, thus toning down tbe inflationary
Impact of the deficit. Secondly, we are not going
to permit the increased incomes to be spent on
imports. because we are going to continue Census: Are
rationing foreign exchange via exchange control
(even if we scrap the Import licensing system).
This leaves us only with the supposed adverse
effect on exports.
This suppo!-.ed adverse export effect may not You Counted?
even exist. Cocoa. the major export. is not affect-
ed in an} predictable way by domestic inflation .
If timber exports are affecled, and this is
27 March 1970 TIIE LEGON OBSERVER s
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27 MardI 1970 THE LEGON OBSERVER 7
The Law in reports of important cases being in the haods of members of the Bench aod Bar.
Every effort wiJI accordingly be made to ens~re
GHANA LAW REPORTS tbat the reports are issued regularly and With
the least possible delay ... I caonot accord·
By T. G. Kane ingly emphasize too strongly the. imporlll?t
ThE Judicial Secretary. Mr. E. S. Aidoo. publicly part this new series of reports will play lD
m' 'tiated a most timely and important discussion assisting the development of the law of the
inI J . his Introduction to the Problem of Slow llstlce, Republic of Ghana. . .
in the 27th February issue of the Legon Observer This statemen~ by Sir Arku, seemed a tJttlOg.
(Vol. V /4). if Dot restrained, portent. But how • .. 1 UOOIC It was.
The subject of law reform is a matter which Certainly the law reports have been beset with
bas been vigorously debated. in private. many political, financial and personnel problems; but
many times in the past-a fact to which ~awyers' then so have other Ghanaian institutions. The
wives will readily testify_ Another pubhc com- editor of the Review of Ghana Law could have
ment will appear in the April edition of the been writing about the law reporting ratho!r than
Rnliew of Ghana lAlv; it is written by Mr. 1. N. the registrars in the very first issue of the
Aryee, and is a most lucid appraisal of the Review (1969. I R.G.L.4) when stating that the
tremendous problems besetting the drafting sec- inadequacy of training, the overwork, the poor
tion of the Attorney-General's Department. pay, the lack of materials. the unpleasant work·
These valuable comments are nevertheless ing conditions, and the lack of respect and co·
microcosmic in as much as the legal system must operation from all members of the legal profes.
be considered as a complex and many-sided sian are matters which have a cumulative effect
creature. In fact the elements acc inextricably in inhibiting the desired quality of work as well
intertwined, and a true picture will not come as the rate of production. These are problems
into focus unless the viewer considers aU these that are so badly in need of serious corrective.
complex facets. The purpose of this comment is Eradicating Ihe Problems
Dot to attempt to denigrate from the value of the
other contributions mentioned; rather it is an No purpose will be served in heaping invective
attempt to shed light upon another dark comer upon recrimination in an attempt to put the
of the Jegal spectrum, and to further this most blame upon speciric individuals for the current
important discussion. state of the law reports- The damage bas been
done and the task of eradicating tbe problems
Developing Legal System is one that cannot afford the diversions that
"head hunting" will throw up. The intellectual
This dark comer that is in need of iUumina· and physical resources exist in abundance; even
tion is the office that is responsible for publish· if the financial resources are deficient there are
ing the Ghana Law Reports and the Review of avenues that can easily be explored.
Ghana Law. Very briefly the modern history of
The one point which must be kept in mind is
law reporting in Ghana is a mixed story of co.
that the Jaw reports are the very heart and core
operation and lack of co-operation with the other
of the legal system. So long as the legal profes-
English-speaking West African countries. The
sion lends tacit approval (by reason of their in-
co-operative ventures were finally put to an end
action) to a situation where budding lawyers
in 1958 when the newly established General
learn the law largely from English and American
Legal Council undertook to publish the Ghana
sources; while members of tbe Bar pursue their
Law R~ports. This was a necessary and excellent
clients' problems largely citing English and
step in the process of developing an appropriately
unique legal system to coincide with the search American cases; and if members of the Bench
for effective independence and identity. fndeed, continue to solve Ghanaian problems largely using
the then Chief Justice of Ghana, Sir Arlm Korsah, English and American authorities: while these
IBid in his foreword to the first volume of the flaws continue, the unique legal system which is
G/rmw LAw Rtports in 1959: so vital to independent Ghana will largely rCoo
main an iJlusion.
I sincerely hope that following the publica.
Obviously the Jaw reports must be brought
lion of this first issue of this new series of
up-to-date, and once that is done all efforts
reports, it wiD be possible for subsequent
must be made never to let tbem fall behind
issues to follow quickly, so as to avoid delay
again. For those who are Dot aware, the second
1970 THE LEGON OBSERVER 11
& Wright did it.
Nows your chance.
Remember these two aviators who flew
man's first powered flight 120 It In 12
seconds? Thev had a story to tell I
Now suppose you flew much faster and
more comfortably WIth Lufthansa to Frank-
furt. And you took a day or two off. To
savour Frankfurt and Its environs, which are
8 pocket-size edition of the whole of
Germany.
Welllhen, you could cash in on the Frank-
furt Stopover Plan. Much of It is for free.
Give us the chance and we'll tell you about
It. Telephone 28313 or write to P.O. Bo)(
3800. Accra
And Frankfurt is also the place where our
new Boeing 747 is panting to take you to
the U.S.
What's this to do with the Wright Brothers?
Plenty. If you want to be a pioneer too.
We'll book you here and now onto our
Boeing 74710 New York or Chicago-which
WIll make you a pIoneer In your own
(W)nghL
We won·t tell you here what you'll be able
10 report back to Ihose in West Africa, lIke
luxurious space, performance. SIX channel
music. and twin language film shows. We'U
leave that 10 your descriptIVe powers. You
won·t have 10 exaggerate.
See you aboard. ThaI's of course if we can
fInd you.
Since we work together wIth your I A,T A.
travel agent there's almost nothIng we can't
do for you.
e Lufthansa
11fB LIlGON OBSERVBR 13
(_ lie aD ....o ed thaI bribery ~q;;e; may or
QIU'. ... .-e ,.. 1'" ill tb i ulyu AI weD compa 10 differing status groups. its
III til ir CD 1OCIi1l),) then it would be urgency as an issue was made evident recently
that the Commission sbould bave indud- wben a lengthy newspaper repon on the borror.
IIIIlR thin one socin1ogist. Secondly, if there and inefficiency, of the passport administration
• ;'8 10 be DO argument about the legalistic brought the chief boss of that office promptly
of "bribery ODd COiiuption" - ODd tbe<e to bis feet. ActuaUy the various processes one
DO n 'OD why th. .e sbould be - then there bas to go through in order to obtain a passport
110 D"d for two lawyers' the Judge who is bave beco devised for security reasons; they are
the chairman of the Commission would. by said 10 be an attempt 10 keep track on thooe
be able 10 take care of aD the legal Ghanaians who, for one reason or another.
of conducting a Commission of do not qualify to leave the shores of the nation.
WbiIe lawyers may be useful in draft- Wbat is interesting is thaI, inevitably, some
constitutions or talking in Parliament, it is "Undesirables" manage to leave!
~rctrlC doubtful that they are ordinarily given What must beat the imagination of the ordi-
much rdIection on social problems. Two nary Gbanaian is why the process should be-
~iok ODd one lawy. . would bave been more come so involved. so slow, and without any
it. Thirdly, if as lOG"" certain, the Commis· . apparent show of businesslike attitute Iowards
will enquire into the various practices the work. A looking messenger bere;
hich civil and other public servants emberlle an angry looking clerical officec there; an
why Dot include an accountant on the impudent and arrogant receptionist elsewhere--
"'nmission1 The musician and the minister of one goes through a whole range of frustrating
were put on the Commission apparently experiences. including at times being asked
au.. they are both Gud-fearing men. But whether one rE lIy wants to have onc's pass-
one of them would have been enough to port early. For those who are nol used to
""per what promise 10 be gruelling enquiries the nuances of corruption verbiage, au answer
the voice of the Spirit? Again we would. would sound like yes, of COWEll. But then
replacing one of the two gentlemen with the language would be mutuaUy incomprehen-
sible.
Whatever the final composition of the Com~ If one is lucky, one may manage to make
':::-"; one bopes that they will begin with a one's way into an obviously tired. obviously r definition of "bribery and corruption", overworked boss whose office actually gives the
they wiD bear in mind "nepotism" wher~ impression that the passport office is understaffed
it aistl. and the higher forms of piHering - despite the numerous number of staff down-
the bigher reaches of our public life such as stairs and upstairs some of whose routine com.
arbitrary use of Government property and mitments in the office are never apparent to the
like. We also bope that the Commission outsid. ..
ltan with a digest of the evidence and COD- Apart, however, from the desire to prune
!uaions 01 the varinus post-coup Commissions personnel, th ..e is also a technicality which has
Eoquiry which should provide the Government to be streamlined. A passpon application goes
data to 110 on if it intend. taking practical 10 the Central Research Office of the Security
agaiNl bribery ODd COIiUption in the ~~ch; when It IS "okayed," jt goes to the loves.
ligatIOns Department of the Security Bnuocb-
ThIa lui paiDl IUgguls two q~eo. III view these two stations are literaUy mil.. apan-
the Government's concern about "bribery ODd and the process may take a day or
o • some
wby not begin by prosecuting those mon tb s I ~r thIS Journey to tate place. Apparent.
of our Municipal Councils who have Iy, what IS needed is a "Stop List System"
p-cned on the evidence to be suilty of blacklist of men who do not dCIeI'Ve a palS~~
but merely ask them to refuDd the -and this list should be bouaed at the pass n
!m-W suma? When is fraud not fraud and ofl ice, wi,th probably an' ~m the S~al
iDdictable ill the a>Ur1S? Are We to draw Branch m charge. When one -~nsiders the
......... tIOiii this that 1be Commj'liou on amount of delay inv~lved~~teriDg the
ODd -_ -....', ,--". I' I. lDCIe dhasiuo. Lm"o vements of pas'r'd one thi-,t ..... s th e S top
~'t mo:hanlSlD, ud i easy avaiJability within
u. e ~~"'CtI of 1M pe'spou oHice, would help 0. • • : to clllltllllte __ of the delays - as weD as
It Imlfy ID ~ ... • die -pidoa of pcllibie COhUPtioa _ ill tho ,. rut
, March 1970 THE LEGON OBSERVER 15
Starting in business or industry?
Already established and expanding?
awaits
you at
Barclays
Bank
•
MR. EMMANUEL N. NORTEY Is the Manager ofthe K{m~/ey Arenue branch of &rc/ays Bank, in Accra. In the
course o( his c.r~r with Barclays, extending oye, fifleM years, he has worked in many capacities
and In nine different br.nches of the bank. Mr. Norter has three times been to lhe United Kingdom on training
courses and holds the Institute of 8.anlfers Associate Diploma which he gained in 1963 with distinction in
the Law Relating to &nltlng. He was (armerly M.niJger of Knuls{ord AnnUli, Accra, branch.
Whtn Mr, Norley welcomes customeu Into his offICe they can be sure that they will gel the soundest bankIng advice,
back«l by his wkle experience, and all the strrices that Barclays Cln offer.
Whether your business is large or small, the comprehensive facilities of BarcJnys arc at
your disposal.. With its progresaive ouUook .•. its wide
experience of bunking in Ghana. ••. its connections with the City of 1. ondon
and the Whole world .•. its network of more than. 60 branches throughout Ghana, Barclays
can a-;at you in so many ways. And always in the !!pirit of helpfulscrvice.
at7RlU!:NT ACCOON~ DEPOSIT ACCOUNTS, SAVINGS A.CCOUNTs, BTANDING ORDERS, FOREIGN'
EXOHANGE. BILLS AND DOOO' KENTA,Ry CREDITS, KONEYT"H A N8FERS., TRAVELLERH' OHEQUES.
BUBrNESS AD'\tlo!:, STATue REPORTS, INVESl'XEN"l'ADVIOE,IN8URANCE A..RR.ANOEMENTS.
BARCI,AYS BANK
At the service of Ghana's trade & industry_ _______
1970 TIlE LEGON OBSERVER 17
He is a SaUTe at the crossroads of social and and self·reliant path to deyelopment. Gabriel Rubum-
r:~;~o:~~ chance. He leaves his people to attend
bika', analysis o( this effort is worthy of the e.ttention
University and wben independence comes he of all those who bave a concern for the soul and pro-
of the first to be sent out as an ambassador. gress of Africa.
his own people find the adjustment hard to male.
of this set is Balinde', father, Musilanga. His ,
been auaht in the flood of change. After his
tn"lfY school course. be enters a Training College On Womanhood
unfortUnately allaht having an affair with a
a mission school, so be is dismissed. He goes
difficult journey to Dar es Salaam and secures WOMEN AND THE NATION
Then comes Nyercre', nationalist movement. By
Jndl. a natural place in this and soon is sent to his Christiana O. Kissiedu
area of Chamambo as the Party', representative
agent of Socialist change. I AM VERY grateful for this opportunity to prescnt
Ujamaa exercise is aimed at transforming isola· the Ghanaian Association of University Women,
.. ,.1 communities into viable experimental agricul- and what is stands for, to the interested public.
settlements, properly boused and equipped for The Association was started in 1965 as aD
productivity. The conflict between the force~ alumni of old students of Volta HaU, Univer·
and those of change are here {'IOlarized
and bis father. The latter is traditionalist. sity of Ghana, a kind of an "old girls Associa-
not sec why he should move from his ancestral tion" which was also to include those women
Furthennore a rift on a personal level had who left the University before Volta Hall was
~~:: between himself and his son. The logic of built in 1959/60. Initially, therefore, member-
~ makes this inevitable. For one of the fint ship was restricted. This fact could stal1d only
done after independence was to democratize
Even the village headmen, of which Musilanga so long as Vol", Hall continued to be the only
have to be elected. The loss of this post worries Hall of Residence for Women in the University.
a cause of greater chagrin to him is the whittling When Mensah Sarbah Hall started 10 accom-
of the traditional authority of the mfeml. modate women students. it was felt that the
time had come to revise the Association's Con·
Ddcodioa: Tndidom
stitution in order to make the membership
conflict comes to a head when Musilansa refuses qualification clause applicable to every woman
F~i~~~,.tthe customary role of a father in the matter who has passed through the Universiy of Ghana
~ Requisition of a wife. And then when the
township is ready and on the orders of Balinde, the Soon after this decision was taken we realized
TANU boss, the inhabitants of the area. all mo\e that the ideal would be to include all University
of their traditional abodes, Musilanga, the last women in the country both Ghanaian and
~d," of the ways of his ancestors, refu.scs to move. foreign, regardless of what Universities they
imminent arrival oi a Cabinet Minister promplo;
to find ways and means of eoaxing his father bad attended, whether local or abroad. Thus in
complying with the government order. 1967, the Ghanaian Association of University
old man is broken at last. The traditions he Women in its present form, was borDo
to defend here are $hown in the context of the
to be outmoded. Even the mteml has advised Invaluable Service
trying to stand against the tide .
• ~';:', is invested with beroic stature by the ,II·
~ bad reputation he acquires in his area. Hi~ The Deed for such an association was born
disinterested actions arc mis.interpreted. with the out of the urge of feUow·feeling among women
that he goes through considerable mental anguish. with University education in the country, and
imagination gets stretched a few times though, out of the conviction that as a group, women
tbeatricality of some incidents In Balinde's rift
his father, one finds it hard to appreciate the old can render invaluable service to the nation. The
utter refusal to talk to his son. Is it not part of ai~s of1tte Assoc.iation. are, inter alia. to help
! tiofi.1 custom to give a hearing to one's son, how- rlllSe the educatIonal standard of Ghanaian
W3\-"Ward he may have been? And what excu~ women in particular, and the entire populace in
a father 10 refuse to listen to an estranged son general. I need Dot labour on the off.repeated
the laner takes the Irouble to take shelter behind
~pI.bl. inlennediaries? maxim which says "educate a woman and you
edu~te a whole ,nation". This we would do by
the theme of the novel itself is the way in wbic.:h
f,,"d""~ learnmg from theIr successes and achievements. is explained to the population. and the
being made to transform Tanzanian society in Toward t.hjs end, the Association sought and
a way as 10 impro\'c the lot of the common ob"'ined Associate Membership of the Inter-
The socialist doctrine of TANU finds. natur..!l national Federation of University Women based
in this "nina. Tanzania. has chosen thc socialist in London. We would also make use of avail.
March 1970 THE LEGON OBSERVER 19
Our Home Delivery Scheme will enable you to pick up a brand
new car, almost anywhere in Europe and you will enjoy all the
advantages of having your own car during your leave.
Doesn't all this sound interesting? It is easier and cheaper than
you think!
('all soon and ask for D~tails.
Accra P.O. Box 543. Phone 64503/04
MOTORS Kumasi P.O. Box 1945. Phone 2268
Sekondi P.O. Box 102. Phone 6181
Tamale P.O. Box 113. Phone 2853
(}2 • 16H)
t
rver
f'Ortl:l;,.bltr Orp.o of 1M UIOD Soc.elr on Nalional Main
No.8 18 - 23 April 1970 Price ISop
EDI1'IIAL
TN" ISSUE
VIOLENCE VANDALISM, ANARCHY, AND WORLD ORDER
THE killing. early this week, at the hands of his kidnappers.
AGAINST of German Ambassador Count Karl von Spreti in Guate-mala raises very poignantly a new and serious dimension in
political and ideological conflicts in the world of nations.
DIPLOMATS It clearly demonstrates that new avenues of social and
political protest, previously unimaginable in civilised com-
munities, are becoming increasingly popular and "proper"
in the hands of those who choose to adopt them. And. with
I
J specific reference to von Spreti's brutal assassination, the Anarchy and World Order
question of the safety of diplomats in their accredited coun-
2 tries becomes all the more delicate.
in the Sudan
BUI. although voo Spreli's dealh has highlighted the gra·
ECONOMY 4 vity of this new anarchic approach to the settlement of
'an,,'s Unemployment Problems J political quarrels. we should not lose 5ight of equally horri-
. A. OoniClT ble incidents of the past which have dotted the recent poli-
8 tical history of Latin America. A few examples of such van-
Growth and Family Plannina dalism and apparent savagery would appear to mdicate the
. B. Safa level to which the world bas sunk in its attempts to obtain
UNIVERSn'IES 9 "equity" and "order". In 1968, the American Ambassador in
t h,.n,;Iy Collcge of Cape Coast: '. Guatemala. John Godwin Mein, was gunned down to his
Unique Experiment death by rebels when he was resisting a kidnap bid. In
A. Karik.ri Brazil. U.S. Ambassador C. Burke Elbrick was kidnapped.
14 and freed only after Brazil's government had released 15
of :m African ldeology prisoners on the orders of the rebels . In Santo Domingo.
W:ay of Good.Feliowship Ibe U.S. Air Force Allache. L'·CoI. Donald Crowley. was
Muolu released by his captors only after 20 political prisoners had
l'OTEBOOK been freed ;" the Dominican Republic . 16
P.M and the Rule of Law The discomfiture of von Spreti followed a pattern which
17 has hardly varied . What the insurgents usuaUy do is to
Role in History capture (or try to capture) a foreign diplomat of a high
the Rural Areas ranking position. The insurgents. as in the case of the Gu:t-
of the Aliens' Order
"Abuse of Freedom" temalan Rebel Arnled Forces, then ask for the release of
Hou~inl Problems ./ a specified number of rebel prisoners (who must surely he
Strength ('If African Culture many!) before the captive is released. The aim in tbis exer-
'n Finan,,~1 Crisis cise is not only to cause embarrassment to the Latin Ameri.
and the Nation
J can governments. but also to draw international attention to Immorality? the existence and the demands of the rebels. Obviously '10
REVIEW 21 amooot of money would have been too high as an exchange
and Unity- E,:olution of Pan· for the life of a diplomat: and it is in this respect that tbe
~ r.;"'n;!'" (Vincent 8akpetu Thompson)
Orpnisation C)f African Unity and Guatemalan government has been criticized for not heeding
Chnrter (c. Hunt) the rebels' blackmail threats. After all. even if CbanceUor
";. ...' od 1:1)' Vao Orona Saft'u Willy Brandt had not cabled to indicate Germany's willing-
22 ness 10 pay Ihe S700.000 demanded b) Ibe caplOrs. il is
in Kontopiaatkrom dear that, for all their poverty, any Latill American govern-
Kontopiaat ment could readily afford this amount rather than incur
Bat tile
way. be u 2 .h
'.4, r .ati. . P D OiDI ill inlEIMtbwl II
be»";". lcoepCeJ by "-alII fwdicw"
in ,.iona wuf.ue wIlD btlicve that m » ADd
c:u be in their 1DCI¥4ii '... if
..,.., pal+i50
..........' " it wouIcI be for Afri·
caDI ., .Y IIIat OIlIer people are more worthy " " , .. \
'" oW lIC, aad more piJty. !hoD we ale. G "'-
raJ ..h jch COIIId have brousht Dohomey A am I ill ~tIIe:':= ro ..
b"'" miHtary to cMIiaD rule have just .,....
ctDed. ill • min" EI which nilCl the jssqe of the 0"1". '"p assiNo in. .r It to ..
iatentjana '" cerWa IUiIitary ,.;mes. In 1.-. doplond tile '"
Ibo. OW Leabva louth'a. haviaa. f wbat lima '" bill, dnth. ___! II SO
WU ID appanIIt dtc~ defeat. did DOt hailate Ilia we. him.
111 anal h·. ..... cd tile leaden '" tile
Kini aad tbea be- aIIo oppel! .. for it __ aile M'cw"cnboc,
liD .. taIt ahal "1**" 111 overthrow his .,.... .. aad tIIeTwb lie
ml It. '-tin ... aa DIOIIOpOIy '" 'DlrcItY. biI iDIIdeIo) wIlD ...
Ev''' dy tile way ill ",bich some of tile Latin Bas I a
aovcurm cta aDd otber lOWing uti in
the 1'1Iird World ,mlm elf powa: .. DOl mucb Ria fifoB. low. .
.....1 bam tile appi"cb of tile new s-m. ANSAR.
natianalm. n.... is tile health of tile eutift
.al aad poIilicol Ib .. bllea of d II 101:11
...... more di ..._ _. ... u we JUI. . Khe'b'. ill
der 011 Guiana"'. Latht Am<d... Afdca aad
the world.
Ghana National Census
1970: Make
lure that you are
.'J"HEL£OON
jnfI_ in die S"dan for. iNtance Exasperation .pin mounted and a new leader
were led for 30 years by Seyyid of Young Radical ofIicers aDd intellectuals. Major-
Rebman al.Mlhdi. the youngest SOD of General Jifaar al-Nimeiry took ' over last year.
Mabel; aDd when be diod in 1959 his son The Revolutionary Council orderod the dissolving
Sadiq al-Mahdi. lod tbe movement. He of all political parties. Seyyid Sadiq al-Mahdi
a considerable part in the development of was detainod but his uncle. the Imam al-Hadi
poUtics as leader of the Mahdist U mma al Mahdi. spiritual leader of the Ansar. was
between 1945 aDd 1958. But he also spent allowod to live on unrestrictod on Aba islaDd.
of his time aDd energy developing the for- ' The Young otlicers hannod poUtical acitvity
of bis own family and in encouraging the and declared themselves committod to the develop-
01 his kinsfQlk. In this sense his fantily ment of the Sudan as a progressive nation. They
typical of • small wealthy group of made clear their intention of playing a morc
prominent role in the struggle of Islamic count·
~anese landowners.
On January 1st. 1956 the Sudan had become an ries against Israel. Also. they committed them-
jIIIIleponc:lent Republic. In the years wh;ch follow. selves to a serious attempt to end the chronic
although there were considerable develop· state of rebellion in the South of the country.
~:h particularly in the sphere of education and Trouble 0_ Land Reform
• utilization - witness the Gezira Scheme ---
was no basic relorm of the ownership of Some of their actions, such as the removal
Many of the more progressive and radical of the bead of the University of Khartoum's
of the Sudanese elite began to resent department of political science. were felt by some
constant reshuffling and political coalitions to be high-handod. But to the delight of the
ensued, They pointed out new wealth more radical intellectuals and the n;utjor-ity of
obvious corruption among tbe politicians. the students and trade unionists tb.:y committed
apart from the communists. murmurs themselves to a programme of meaningful land
the landed families WCfC muted. though reform. This led inevitably to confrontation bet-
resented them. ween the Revolutionary Council and the Ansar
• _ the focus of (slamie conservatism smce the
Entor: The MUitary Umma party had been dissolved.
Problems were legion . Tensions between reli· The new regime. like that in Libya. was not
and secular emphases in politics. between weD received in Wasbington and London· The
fact;ons of Islam aDd between the North and Nnv York Times is pro-Israel and appeared to
South of this very large country resulted in fear the rise of officers more friendly disposed
1958. in an apparent military coup. to President Nasser. The London Times com-
But actually it was by general consent of aU men ted : uMahdist feeling, like those of other
the power groups and factions that a supreme sects. bas been opposed to Egypt and Nasserism.
military council took over the government. It was to communism, to growing secularism and to
headod by General Ibrahim Abboud . policies which would encourage the southern
Although unsuccessfully challengod several provinces to secede".
limes by younger military officers and intellec- In Khartoum this bead-shaking and implied
tua1s. th;s military regime lasted unt;1 1964. Then disapproval was seen as interpretation straight
disiIJusion with its false promises of national out of tbe old colonial rook. What mattered was
cohesion led to its replacement by another civil- what the Ansar leaders were for not what they
ian government. However. constitutional debate were against. Of this the Times made no mention ,
rather than social progress. again provod the But in the eyes of the new government and many
key-note. At one stage Seyyid Sadiq al-Mahdi. others Ansar stood for traditional land owner-
who was Oxford oducatod. actually became ship patterns, for family (almost dynastic) mono-
minister at the rather young age of 30. poly and for conservatism.
his position aDd comparatively progres- When the Head of the Revolutionary Council
luinvec ".v iews Jed to diMI' eements with his own recently visited the Island of Aba. he was not the J mom aI.Hadi al Mahd;. spiritual well received. Tbis is not surprising since the
'-Ier of the A-.r. Their quarrels IcxI to internal Umma was banned. However. Intelligence reports
tlivhh,dl aDd a decUne io the ..t ionaI position advised the Council of caches of arms and rcae-
die U","," party lout they alw.ys remoiDed tjmary foreign support. He at once committed
ill die wiDp. b military to f1ns~ out this Ansar stronghold
April 1970 TIlE LEGON OBSERVER
5
CENTRE FOR CIVIC EDUCATION
VACANCIES
Applications are invited from suitably qualified Ghanaians for the
following posts:
(A) SENIOR ASSISTANT POSTER ARTIST
QUALIFICATIONS:
(i) Applicants must possess Teachers' Certificate 'A' or School Certi-
ficate or its equivalent with a Credit in u:t and fine lettering, and
must have about 5 years experience in poster work.
(il) Diploma in Arts and Craft or an equivalent qualification in Arts
and Craft with at least 2 years post qualification experience.
AGE: Between 25 and 45
SALARY: R.35 i.e. NCI,008 - NCI,I88
RAO i.e. NCI,236 - NCI,428
(B) ASSISTANT POSTER ARTIST
QUALIFICATIONS:
(i) Candidates must possess Teachers' Certificate 'A' or School Certi-
ficate or its equivalent with a Credit in art and fIne lettering, and
must have been in the grade of Silk Screen Assistant for a period
of 3 years.
AGE: Between 25 and 45
SALARY: R.16 i.e. NC480 - NC564
R.17 i.e. NC496 - NC588
R.24 i.e. NC660 - NC756
R.29 i.e. NC792 - NC936
GENERAL
NOTE: People without formal qualifications but possessing professional
experience in Silk Screen Printing and ability to operate advanced Silk
Screen Printing Machine may also apply. Experience in poster designing
will be an advantage.
DUTIE~: Successful candidates wi!1 be responsible for pos~er design and
productIOn and the preparatIOn of lllustratJons and assembling of exhibits
on Silk Screen equipment.
I\lIETHOD OF APPLICATIONS: Applications (five copies) should be
addressed to the General Administrator, Centre for Civic Education.
P.O. Box M. 103, Accra, to reach him not later than 17th April 1970
together with copies (not originals) of Certificates and Testim~nials.
Three referees should be asked to send Confidential references direct
to the General Administrator. Applicants under bond are ineligible.
•
19'10 TIlE LEGON OBSERVER 1
TIle _ clilUibutioD of the unemployed in Textile production iD Ghana is a good example
Iaaa obows tIIll the traditional system operat- of this. It will oot be long before the textilo
iD the COUDtry contains bias against female manufacturing factory at Terna starts to reduce
This is borne out by the 1960 census its labour foree because the size of the markel
wbich revealed that about 19.3% of our is too small unless the market problems are solved.
labour force al that period who were males The major solution to the unemployment pro-
unemployed. This eompares unfavourably blem in the country lies in the provision of the
a eorresponding 60.3% who were unemployed co-operant factors of production referred to in
poalt:.. This is due mainly to the high birth the introductory stages of tbis essay. There is
existing in the eountry. with a great per- need for capital investment and the supply of higb
of the female population engaged in child level manpower. In most instances. labour re-
This has resulted in many women of mains unemployed because it is untrained or
age unable to take up full time wage unskilled.
Retail trading is therefore tbe major part· A survey undertaken in 1963 as a prelude to
occupation of the females. with about i5% the 'Seven Year Development Plan· revealed the
of them engaged in petty trading. as revealed great need for middle or higb·level personnel.
1960. This requires an effon in education and training. /
One of the characteristics of underdevelopment These requirements would be difficult to satisfy
that a relatively greater perc;entage of the unless the pricing conditions are geared towards
is engaged in the provision of the the supply of skilled labour. as opposed to white
necessities of Iile: food, shelter and cloth- collar jobs. It will also be necessary to effect me·
In Ghana. about 60% of the economically thods which would make the payments to labour
population is engaged in agriculture. Again and capital reflect their true opportunity costs to
is great preponderance of labour in the the economy.
':~:~~. indl!stric:; of commerce, tr::.nsport and
f Trend of Unemployment with services topping the list. The survey of high-level manpower in 1960
revealed the significant Dumber of vacancies.
Distribution of Employment especially in the professional group 'Of occupa-
The table below shows the distribution of tions. In the Seven Year Plan referred to above.
~~I~~~::~ the planning commission found that the country ~ among the various sectors of the The table. taken from Ghana F.collom;c \\ould require within the period of the plan about /967. does not give a true picture of the 109.000 high-level worker;, The most serious
~llmlber of persons employed in the (agricultural) bottlenecks of all would be at the top of the
primary sector, because of the census definition structure. in the administrative·managerial cate.
of the employed person. which relates more to gory, This level was estimated at about 6.900
wage labour than to farming activities. It does persons. of which the universities were supposed
serve, however, to give a rough picture of the t·) provide about 1.500. whilst the rest would be
distribution of employment among tbe various found somehow within industry or in other coun.
I:secto:rs of the Ghanaian economy. trie"_
TABLE II A study of the trend of unemployment in the
PERCENTAGE DtsTRIBITno~ OF RECORDED country slJows that in ]967. almost a year after
EMPLOYMENT IN ESTABLISHMEl'IrITS E~tpLOY. the military take o .... er. the unemployment figures
INC MORE mAN 10 PERSOSS went up. This was due to the fact that many per-
Sector sons were laid off because their productivity rate
PRIMARY 21 I 20.8 21.7 in the various industries was said to be zero.
SECONDARY 26.9 28.2 The trend of economic activity in the country has
TERTIARY SO. t not as yet revealed a fall in productivity as a
re!-ult of the laying off of these persons.
to the unemployment ~n Many governments in Africa. anxious to main-
Ghana is still more compl.:x. The Keynesian so- tain their political power, increase employment
lution. which is mainly ap'plicable to the advanced with no corresponding increase in output. Such
economies. can as well be *Ievant to some artd.~ measures result in inflation and can be dangerous
of the GbRaian economy, wbere there is under- to the growth of the economy. The problem fa-
atiliutioD of the limited capital n:sources availa- eing the bureaucracy. then. is how to keep people
ble b "._ of the limited size of the market in gainful employment. Some trade union move--
April 1970 THE LEGON OBSERVER
9
63, For most developing countries it planning agency (if one does not already exist)
from 20 to 35 years, while for most of and should provide such an agency with suffi-
developed countries the doubling time falls cient funds to carry out its functions satisfacto-
fetw .. ,o 50 and 200 years. Thus it could be seen rily. There should be high salaries for the work-
it is the families in countries with very small ers of any such agency. Money spent today to-
national incomes, high illiteracy. very high wards population control could mean substantial
and inadequate food supplies savmgs in the future.
ironically choose to have more mouths to Campaigns in the press. on radio and televi-
sion, and through posters should begin at once
The implications are clear. For example. just on a massive scale to help make the public
order to enjoy its present (low) standard of aware of the threats and costs arising from un-
Kenya bas. every 24 years, to double its controUed population expansion. All the people
supply, its classrooms. roads. railways of Ghana should be fully exposed to the exercise.
jobs, etc. Britain, with its already high Any reader who accepts population control IS
of Jiving, has as much as 140 years in urged to write to his member of parliament to
to carry out the same exercise. This need endorse. introduce and support bills aimoo at
devote much of the hard earned national checking the population explosion.
to the construction of facilities that would Finally. birth control as a subject should be
a people just to maintain the same living introduced. as soon as possible. into the curricu-
hinders rapid advancement. in the face of la of middle. secondary and vocational schools.
expectations in most developing countnes. as well as those of the training colleges and
tbem mass starvation and riots caused by universities.
IUln!u aspirations are real and imminent The expulsion of aliens might be one way of
sol\ling some of Ghana's problems. But. then. why
not consider birth control too? It might prove a
Stabilizing Population-Size much more effective panacea, in the long run.
Another cost associated with the rapid growth
population is over-crowding. especiaUy in urban The Universities
clntres. The over-concentration results in the rise
of slums. over-utilised public rest rooms. crowded
parks and beaches-simply in the urban crush_ Ul\IVERSITY COLLEGE OF CAPE COAST:
In the (ace of these facts. we would advance A UNIQUE EXPERIMENT
the plea that the government and people of By
Ghana should consider seriously the possibility K A Karikari
of adopting population planning through the birth
control method as a long-run solution to some of FOR eight years it has looked out for existence
the country's problems. All the political parties and recognition. For eight years it has pioneered
should endorse birth control and make it a the study of education. Now. Oguaa University.
cardinal policy. with its achievements and with students' grievances
To stabilise the population-size at a prooeter- gna\loing away at its very foundations. has hact
mined level there must be a law to limit the to turn a close look at itself
number of children that any couple could have. The other two universities. Legan and Kumasi .
To make such a law effective. ample supplies of have had their share of student discontent. but
\afe and cheap contraceptives must be made it ~a'i been the University College of Cape Coast
available and readily accessible to all . Forced which has been consistently hitting the headlires
sterilisation of men who repeatedly break the law since July 1968.
should be instituted. Agitations against the mass failures in the
Again. the Ministries of Health. Education. Science Faculty; the suspension or dismissal uf
Finance. Agriculture and Economic Affairs. third yt:ar science students~ the very insistence
among others. must be convinced of the need for on academic standards: the finances of the univer-
family planning on a national !>cale. Some of their sity; shortage of staff accommodation and the
agencies. such as organisations of mass education high COst of living in Cape Coast-these are some
and seIr-help. could be utilised to teach the rural of the many problems facing tbis infant university
populace about the need for family planning. Why are the bases of all these difficulties at Cape
The Government should "et up a population Coast? The reasons are complex. but one reason
THE LEGON OBSERVER II ,0 April 1970
ill Cape Coast is rather dull. The university does nunicate EngJisb to undergraduates. At the
not as yet provide a forum for intellectual dis-
;arne lime the Faculty is recruiting competent
course. Most of the staff still live in town and
:taching stall. The Arts Faculty seems to have
distances tend to separate them after a day's work.
~ped the crisis of student discontent. possibly
Although there is the academic staff association
xcause things seem to have been better organized
of the teaching staff. most of their meetings are
from the beginniog of the university in that faculty.
either devoted to social functions-such as orga-
However, there is very little research being nising parties, and seeking a review of policy.
done in the Arts and the Science Faculties. The making ilfl the university. Here one does not
Social Studies Project seems to have made a encounter the regular meetings and discussions
odest beginning in the field of research. yet in the senior common rooms of Legan and Ku-
n the whole little money has been devoted to masi. Though one finds the occasional gossips
search in the university; and. for all intents and of the academic staff when crises do emerge from
urposes. the university seems to have taken on time to time, it is true to say that the university
permanent character of remaining as essentially College is starved of active intellectual life.
teaching university. . The college's new Principal appears to be fa-
Perhaps the administration occupies the most vourably disposed towards students' representa·
lmportant place in the power structure of the uni- tion on important university committees as 3
versity college. Indeed the Administration possesses means of student participation. The Students
much power and influence in the entire university Representaive Council is always welcomed by
administration which has made a cynic remark the Principal on matters which affect the very\ life
of it as "Faculty of Administration". Possibly of the entire student body. Thus unlike tbe other
this balance of power in favour of the Admin;;- two universities the student-staff relation appears
tration is the result of academic impasse betwc~n very cordial.
the Faculty of Education. on the one hand. and In the very ensuing months the university colle-
th'! other two F~cultics. on the ether. ge may have to redefine its role in the Ghanaian
society. Such a redefinition should be made in
An Expensive Administration the context of the socio-economic needs cf Ghana
Nevertheless. the cost of university college Especially in the drive towards social and econo-
administration at Cape Coast is about one of tht: mic development of this country. the University
highest in the world. The number of Administra- College of Cape Coast will continue to be unique
tive Assistants and Assistant Registrars mak:s among the other two sister universities.
the Admklistration a complete Faculty. Thus, if
onc takes the university pay-roll-Administration
plus the Academic Staff. one may arrive at aralia Observer Notice
of about 1: 3-one staff to three students. This.
of course. is very expoosive for this country. In We wish to gIve notice to our reader-
fact the ideal ratio for most universities is be-
writers as follows:
tv.eenl:50 and 1:100. Thus in terms of the econo-
1. The Obser,..'er does not acccpt syndica-
mics of education the university college is a verY
ted material. and rejects at sigbt any copy in
expensive proposition. .
carbon duplicate, mimeographed form-ex-
The university campus is spread over a large cept official releases from recognised esta·
land area. This results in further expenditure of blisbments-and material in any other forml
maintaining roads. college buses aond vehicles. of duplication;
The university is also isolated from the Cape 2. Should we inadvertently publish any
Coast community. Although there are villatot es material which then appears elsewbere. o~
around the university college. there seems to be which we latcr discover to have already
very little social relationship between the univer- appeared in another publication. we sball
sity anj the townsfolk. put an immediate and permanent ban OD all
SociJ.I mobility among staff of all grades future contributioIU (rom tbe author or
appears very good in the university college. Possi- authors of such material:
bly. ur-like Legon or Kumasi, the univer3ity 3. We remind our writers of our reserva·
col1ege mode of organising social life makes for tion of the right to reject overlong manu-
easier social relations between the junior and scripts. or to treat them in any way that
senior members of the university. makes them acceptable to our editorial rules.
UoI.ik:e Legon and Kumasi. intellectual life in .. - ~- •. --~---=
10 April 1970 13
noticed that some intemal of supply. This requires that we must look for adequate
carried out within the Accra import IiceocCi for goods of overseas manufacture and
continue over the present year. a substantial amount of aenior management time is
devoted to thi,.
at Burma Camp is being extended
there are advanced plans for a STAFF
" Your Directors are now looking
of re-deiigning and rebuilding tbe The prospenty of your Company is derived from tlac
Kumasi, which is one of our larger efforts and loyalties of every employee in the Company.
now in need of re-development The progress that has been made during the past year
, .,m Departmental Store standards. is indicative of the growing confidence, harmony and
spirit of team-work tbat is evidenced through aU areas of
the Company's operations, whether it be sellinl. clerical
o r a:lrrJnistratioD. I, therefore, take this opportunity
to expres& my sincere thanks to them all . I must also
1v"O,"'''OOI or new stores clearly dis.. mention that we continue to enjoy the best of relations
or your Directors in the future with the representatives of their trade unions whose
in Gbana. The success of benefit and ad.,ice is reeularly sought on matters or
upon the type of mercban· sood human relations.
IS to procure for sale. The Finally, Ladies and Gentlemen. I must direct my
goods has not increased to an, closinK remarka to you , the sharebolders of the Com-
the year under review and addi- pany, to thank ),ou for the confidence you display to
been generated largely from. ,our Directors and the Company. Your DirectOR "iU
of locally produced goods. Your do .U tbat i. within their power and ability to ensure
that the stores will continue that your inve5tment is managed wisel, and for the
selective range of quality merchan· continuina prosperity of tbe Company as • "bole.
tcek for new markels and sources A. W. R. WOOD
•
use apex
ball point pen
April 1970 TIlE LEGON OBSERVER
tinct impression it was to make. If once we sbouting is accompanied by frenzied gesticula·
ept that appearances are, at best, of quite tion and staring eyes. and at the summit of
ondary importance. and that what we need to their fury the two are about to come to blows.
,w about and to understand is what we are, in In a few moments a ferocious battle will begin.
selves, we begin to see the whole question in If at that moment someone makes a joke. the
Ie a differeDt and a far richer light. fury is instantly dissipated in an immense roar
iOC there is an African personaJjty. a distinct of laughter, the appearance of anger gives
"iean way of doing things and of approaching place to that of exuberant mirth, and our two
problems of life, wbicb most African peoples antagonists comment merrily on the jest which
"C in common and whIch mark tbem off has produced this surprising volte face, giving
n others. It embraces much more than each other great thumps on the back and call·
commooal traditions and the concern with ing the by·standers to witness the full flavour
continuity of the Jiving with the dead of tbe joke.
those yet unborn, of which Julius Nyerere This significant little story depicts a common
others have made so much, for there is enough scene reasonably accurately, I think; but
uniquely African in these. It is not a whether it supports the interpretation here placed
~ti(;n of morals. or of consideration for on it is another question. Apart from the wildly
for Africans are not particularly kind to fallacious suggestion that "evocation of the past"
another, and can indeed be quite ruthless in plays no significant part in African life, can we
mutual dealings. It is. rather, that di stinc- say that the hundreds of young men who have
style whjch goes with Jiving in great numbers worked, steadily and patiently, and the hundreds
more successfulJy than any other peoples in who are working today, often in adverse condi~
and enormously diverse tropical domain. tions, week afer week. to prepare themselves for
that quality of African life which enables it examinations set by distant bodies. usually study·
great human diversity without physical ing quite on their own, are not preoccupied by
';P'" and to avoid destructive violence. "projects for the future"? And what of the even
more striking cases - much fewer in number, it
Regulating Influences is true, but found all over the continent - of
village youths who were willing to leave their
~Itsiclers have often been struck by this Afri· peoples behind them and walk enormous distan-
style, but have usually failed to understand ces in search of a school that would take tbem.
has been given such names as loie de vivre. and from that point have climbed tbe educational
gaiety and cheerfulness and has even ladder, often at the cost of considerable hardship,
taken to indicate a basic inability to take to become prominent citizens of their countries
. seriously, a kind of childlike qUality. In a~d sometimes poJitical leaders?
painstakingly misleading book. The African
in Health and Disease, the psychiatrist, 1. C. Distraction from Violence
quotes a couple of his French coJ·
as finding that "the African" is known To give the devil his due. one cannot accuse
"a liveliness of the emotions which is counter· either Kwame Nkrumah or Hastings Banda. for
~~~~nt~bY their poor duration. Sensations and example. of Jack of persistence in pursuit of their
~ comprise the chief part of his ex is· goa1s. whether personal or political. As for
Intellectual life, evocation of the past. and movements Mid organisations, jf Africans were
for the future preoccupy him but little. so readily distractible, the colonial powers could
lal-at,:d from these regulating influences. he have dissipated the energy of nationalism simply
essentially in the present {in this sense like a by holding frequent comic shows or making a lot
and his conduct submits to influences and of jokes over the radio.
P,~~~~o:Of the passing moment ..... By way of
~ they cite such incidents No, the kind of incident cited does not point
to any general quality ' of distractibiJjty in Afri.
• • • as the following which each of us has cans, any light.mindedness or lack of tenacity.
many times in Africa. Two Africans What it does point to is the ease with which
engaged in argument (an unrepaid loan, Africans may be distracted from violent action
unfaithful wife, an uncompleted bride price, - the ease with which. in the authors' own words.
stolen kid. etc.) Beginning with bargaining. fury is dissipated. This is the significant thing;
discussion ... becomes vehement. the tone
p",., and. it is a consistent feature of life among most insula and abuse are excbanged •. ", Afncan peoples. With few exceptions (I would
TIlE LEGON OBSERVER 11 ) April 1970
:actice o•f "sbowing where power lies" only of the pull factors which attract the poor, half.-educated in elementary school graduates into the cities. Tne city
-dec to repudiate and reject it, than we are lights constitute one of the pull factors but defmitely
armed at the spectacle of the people's demo· not one of the most important. Needless to say, it is
-atically chosen leader bolding a big stick over those amenities and things which go with electricity,
Lcir heads. It is comforting to feel that we can i.e. the cinema, iced water, folctoriCl ...e tc. in fact,
:x:ept this declaration of the Prime Minister as employment opportunities. which pull the "graduates"
from the villages and not electricity per se.
is own and bis party's policy guarantee of our Perbaps if the committee were to go down to inter·
ewly pledged allegiance to the principles of the view the rural masses in the villages it would discover
Jle of law. In truth, the courts - and our that demand for electricity is not one of their immc.
ges _ remain our safest custodians of popu- diate needs; and that a way of making the rural areas
liberty, unless tbey too fail us. a more comfortable environment to live in lies in help-
ing the farmers to raise their real incomes through
increased productivity i.e. the use of hybrid seeds.
fertilizers. insecticides etc. etc. to be :!uppJicd free to
etters them in the short run to provide good all-weather roads and to guarantee the markets for the produce etc.
Increased incomes over and above the bare neccssities
Nluumah', Role ia HI!tory needed to keep body and soul together would. in due
course. enable the (armers to provide themseh"cs with
R-The 6th of March, 1957. is a date which one
their social needs with little help (rom the government.
nnot easily omit when one thinks seriously of writing
political history of Ghana. It was the day on wbic.-h The rural communities will be helped best if the
hana became independent of Britain. Its Importance priorities arc known.
shown in the sense that it is a National Holiday 147 Queen's Hall C. C. T. Blank50D
d it has accordingly been observed year after ye.u. University of Scieoce &: Technology
is day also brings into mind the fact that it was KUlDIIl$i ,
e day on which the hope of many years was realized
t is. Independence. Whatever misfortunes might have
ullU'h..:d this day, it is a,l :'·,":i';f. .. :. .. b:c fad that c;:.:: Economics of the Aliens' Order
f the main characters of this picce of drama was
IVa me Nkrumah, SIR - ,Mr. Hakam in his analysis of the cconomic im·
For the past four years can Kious attempts on the plications o( the Aliens Order (1..0. VJ6) pointed out
rt of the Governments and distinguished individuals at the beginning that his analy~is "is of cconomie cost·
ere made to completcly leavc out the role played by benefits and docs not take into account purely polillcal
e ex-president in the independence struggle. and sociological consequcncies". One finds it difficult
1t is not being suggested here that Nkrumah's virlues to appreciate that such an analysis would be complete,
extolled on the annivcrs::try of this Independence by non-~uperncial and critical enough without :my can-
is cncmiCl but. again. his enemics cannot twist the siderotion of the political and sociological impli.::anons,
ets to suit their own interests whimsically, Could tho~ since at this stage o( our devdopment one can hardly
. pon<,ible for the radio broadcast not make at lta-st a separate the three asp..:cts from one another.
nary rem;lrk about what little role he played1 We
rsory remark abt'ut what little role he played'? Evcn Mr. Hakam's <;uggeston "to permit the seasonal mig-
Itler, Mussolini and more notorious politicians have ration to cocoa (anns-' of aliens from "such countries
heir nJmes in our history bool.:.'I. Thc Italian govern- as Upper Voila", because Ghanaians have "certain
ent recently granted Mussolini's widow a pcn~ion. trad1tional a\'cr3ion" towards some jobs or types of
'cre Nkrumah's crime half 85 terrible ao; those "f menial work, has surely not oaly purely econorr:icaL
itler1 At least for the $like of history can't we speak but a),o sociological and political implications1 ~ilould
tru1h (or once? we Ghanaians not b~ ashamed lot this stage of \(rica's L~e
Commonwealtb Hall Kofi Dake hislory that we should be content to u~e our neigh~lurs
(rom other West African countri'!s simply as sca .. onal
t.egOD
labouren (or ~Ia\·e'l. of whom we arc lords?) on our
cocoa (arms (the main c;auree of Ghana's income) and
then drive ,t-em away when we no longer need thcm.
Denlopin:: The RUr:\1 ArC3&! and con'lider granting Ghanaian citizenship only to
SIR ~ The 10\'cmment has set up a Rural Electrifica- people we think have high skills?
tion Committee "to study. plan and programme the The examples of the Uniled Stalec;-Me~ico, United
utension of electricity to the rural ar~s". The govern- Statcs·Can3.da. and the "Brain Drain" which the author
ment is to be commended for its sinccre concern for Quoted as a would-be parallel to Ghana's situation,
the plight of the runl massn. d.:monslr.J.tes cl~rly, in my opinion. a lack of under·
However, apparently in the 1l00'emmcnt', list of s!anding and any appreciation of the difficult and alauut
priorities for the rural areu. (he supptv of electricity helplcts economic lIituation to which Ghana and other
rants hi&hest. But t d()ubt ~ilC:thcr in the sale ot pre· We\( African countri" have heen finnly '1nailcd", as
f«cnees (lr priorities o( the ruBI masses themselves. opposed to countries like the USA and Canada.
electricity comes anywhere near the top.
L""A.c c:ordin, (0 the cbmcal theory underlying the rural· With refercnce to the author'S tint category of the Ulllll..l~e lamour of the city lighls is one foreign population, bis arguments leading ~t~b• ....o:;~on~c~t~u~. ____ _
April 1970 TIlE LEGON OBSERVER 19
THE LEGON OBSERVER I
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19'10 TIlE LEGON OBSERVER 11
difficult for them to effcctively counter the ac:cu~ n.cialism. And be does this with the clear intention
at beinl snobbish. or even spendin, the best part of popularizinc the idea of Pan·Africanism, and sellio,
time in frivolous lossip. the mo·.. ement
Coart P. A. V. Auab
s. .... The movement, at the Atrican Unity "ge, is basic
to Africa's survival. This is, baldly, Mr. Thompson's
W.t
thesis. It is not a no,'el thesi,. Indeed, apart from a few
details. there il not nwch that il Ilrildna1y oovel in
the book. Mr. Thompson would be the firat to admit
Eacoaracllll tauno ...U f71 J that. But the thesis is a tborouably I3dical one. It is
certainly more radical than that which appears in tho
willb to draw the attention of the Distillcriet title of Green and Seidman's book. AlriCII: Unity or
1~~~SC::O~f~. GlHOC to their advertisement (or Poverty. Survival i, prior to affluence. Self-praervation Aromatic Schnapps currently showin, on i. a supreme need; commodious livina. which comes ~
Television~ I am not exhilarated by the siabt later, need not be.
very YOUDa man luipin8 web a larac glass of
ja,'''' in the manner sugge.sttd by the advertisement.
at a time when a few decent people atc Fien'e Commlboeul
~ • ..,. disturbed by the moral degeneration in our Mr. Thompson does not succeed in arguing this
it .seems surprisina to some of us to be told by extreme thesis convincingly. But he does succeed in pro-
at 0lIl' upat'f', that teenagers who have sc dudn& a book on Pan-Africanism which it comprehen·
to escape the corruption in their midst sive and detailed. and which is still interesting. even
join the ranks of their ain-drinking counterparts
ta"ed after the apparent pre-emption of the field, by the in the advertisement. sympathetic treatment of it by Immanuel Wallerstein
IrI .. p. . I am "colo" (whatever the term may mean), and the fulsome documentation by Colin Lqum. After
appears that the time is now ripe (or some WaLlerstei.n and Legum and other writers on Pan·
";on to be passed to control standards in adver- Africa~ism, it was the iconoclast and the sceptic who
The advertisers seem incapable of doing so by could be expected to be interestina be<::ause contrarious.
What Mr. Thompson lacks in originality of analysis
OlambeMl L. 8. Akaioyab and attltudc.s, he more than makes up in his fierce
8aI: 3139 commitment to the cause of Pan-Africanism, and ift his
brash dismissal of objecti..,ity as bOlUS. "Obectivity in
the study of intemation'al affairs as a whole, and parti.
cularly in matters of dispute between vested interests
in Power Politics", he quotes Dr. Fahunmi of the
Nigeriu Institute of International Affairs with approval,
Review "is not to be had by failing to give verdicts or by avoding indications of preferences".
Mr. Thompson, therefore, proudly parades his pre-
I FlIUC:A AND UND'Y-EVOLunON OF PAN· ferences. Nkrumah is hi, idol. Nkrumah's ideas on
Pan·Africanism are sacred. Nk.rumah's unique contri.
AFRICANISM bution to Pan·Africanism, the pivotal role of Nkrumab',
VlIIUDt Bakpdu Thom~n: Gbana in the second phase, must be acknowledged .
(LOO&"'"U, 1969) Price In U.K.: 65/- Thompson does this with infectious relish. if not always
ORGANIZATION OF AFRICAN UNITY AND with disc:emmenL
rrs OfARTER Cervenka also treats Ntrumab with respect and
(C. H ..... 1969) Pritt la U.t"-' ••, . s}'mpathy. There is an impressively balanced analysis
here of Ghanaian policiet and attitudes towards the
BnleAed by YM ()poac SafIv. O.A.U. whieb pUu Scott Thompson, author of Ghana's
" ..- .FIU< bas at least two distinct pbues. Foreign Policy, to shame. Ghana's attempts to give
there is the pre·African indepeodtnce phav of the Qrpnization teeth. in the form of an EKcculive
by African men in the diaspora, seekina Council-what Scott Thompson chooses to call "Ghana's
solidarity and protestina their humanity. Then fight agaimt the O.A_U: '- are recounted not with the
i, the post-indepcodeace African phase of a studi crusadina enort to drive the nails into Nkrumab's poli.
lU luty on the oontlnent Thompsoo', book de&ls with tical coffin, but with sympathetic understanding of the
phases of the movement, while Cervenka's deab rccessary, even if (utile, role of the avant·garde, the
with the institutionalization of African Unity in romantic optimist. in the conlen of the compromise
O.A.U. . which is a particular aspect of the RCOnd organization that the O.Au. is.
The coincidence of the: subject.maucr of the But Nknunab's r-ebabilitation in the bosoms of "pro-
books is tha, only partial. arc.ui,,·c" people is not one of Cervenka's primary con-
i, an bistorian aDd • radia I D&tionalilll cerns. He is e.n&aaed in the narrower academic exerci.
about aD aspect or lI.is own nationals. He lnu:es 0' e.z:plaining. from a laW}'er's point of ",iew, what tho
development or Pan-Africanism ab IDttlo at the O.A.U. is all about; wbat its charter says; the legal
reaction to the Atlantic Slave Trade. to and political implications of the l.-barter provisions,
impe:riali_ III Africa aDd to the wbitr:ma-'. but especially the fecal implications, (or a whole rango
.pril 1970 THE LEGON OBSERVER
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•
V No.' 14 April - 7 May 1970 Prke 15Dp
,g'E E"TII/AL
v POLmCS AND TIlE JUDICIARY
THE JUDICIARY of any nation is an important and highl}
IN THE esteemed branch of governmental process and administration.
This is even more so in countries wh:re democracy a~d
JUDICIARY? fair play have not ceased to have a T'eaningful respect. Thus when a new constitution was being framed for Ghana's
second attempt to experiment with modern. sensible politics.
the crucial role of the Judiciary was emphasised. Indeed.
. .. ... .. .. . .. . . " 1 some Ghanaians even had second thoughts as to whether
l tics and the Judiciary the Judiciary - and the gentlemen of the Bench - had not
been given a disproportionate share of the distribution of
.. . ... .. . .. . .. .. . 3 the powers among the various organs - Executive, Legisla·
Need for an Opposition Paper j live. and the Judiciary - of the state. But the cost of
OPP<lI1i·AaYIR upholding democratic ideals can be very high and often
.. . .. . .. .. . .. ... ... frustrating even to democracy's most ardent apostles. . 6
South African Problem There is no country in the world in which one can dis-
I~~~ Karikari cover a situation where the incumbents of the three areas i of the Rhodesia Crisil of power have had a complete, unanimous satisfaction about
C. K. Dzakpasu what each other's sphere of innuence is_ and where it should
.. . .. . .. . .. . 8 cnd. This has caused some irritation to many people who
Fale of Non-Alignment \liould have \liished to see a redefinition of the boundaries
I"" Apronti of operation of these organs.
NOTEBOOK ... ... ... 10 Politics is about law; society is a complex entity. and it
<lnd the Judie! would be naive (or one to ignore the fact, for instance, that
1, ,,.'. Lcg:u:y Judicial pronouncements have acute political implications
DISruh! at Kumasi Equally, of course, political decision· making cannot Ignore
I ~rSII) legal consequences.
!\pol1t1 1J Epiwdc
and Rebels in Rhodesia This is why, ideally, the Executive and the Bench, work.
Ghanaian LaTllUaleJ ing as complementary twin partners to ensure efficiency and
fair play. are perhaps a nation's surest guide to harmony
11 and sensibility. This complementarity need not be entirely
Busia and the Judlc..l devoid of tension, it is true. But what is even truer is that
JU~II.:e In Ghana such tension as may exist should not lead to a situation
Growth :lnd Family
where the ordinary man in the street comcs to have reasons
Significance of 24th February to doubt the worthwhiJeness and integrity of the existence
Access to Accra Airpon of such institutions. Trust is obviously a significant factor
in the RUMIII Areas in political sociation.
Health Centre
Munlu-C\)Rlrats! For the past few days. ~vents in Executive JudiCiary rda-
and Economic tions in Ghana have reached unfortunate proportions
Pr(I'~. (2) Mrs. Narh, a Russian·bom lady whose Ghanaian hus-
band had sought a divorce, was deported while the
Ope-n Lentcr to Dr. Busla case was said to be still in the court. The Minister of
Publiul Garnesu Interior. Mr. S. D. Dombo, and the Inspector-General of
i-., .... : Police, Mr. B. A Yakubu, were charged with contempt of Voila lid; Dec I.,
coon. The whole contempt of court concept has not heeu
It April 1970 THE LEGON OBSERVER 3
DeIltal action which has been moti,'a ted sol~ly b~ art of fault.finding. thus keeping the members of
a' tanpts 10 show where power lies. Enshrined in the government on their toes. To those whose
be archives of Ghana's history are the critical taxes support public servants of all descriptions.
ipeeches of Busia and many of the men who government sponsorship of an opposition paper is
lOW hokl power. which they made under not a preposterous proposition. For if public
fuumah's totalitarian regime. These speecbes funds should be used in paying employees who
NoulJ be interesting references at this lrying ...... ork on government papers. expenditure of part
Jel"iod. of the same publ ic funds on an opposition paper
(When a new constitution has bern promulgat- deserves a similar treatment.
~. there is bound to be role confusion: this is
Apart from all this. the existence of an 0Ppo:ii·
Nhy the legal battles now raging in the courts
tion paper takes a lot of tedium from the daily
ire welcome as exercises in constitution building.
humdrum round of life. Saying all thi~ is not
these battles should not degenerate to levels
saying that an opposition paper may not be
which party allegiance. personality clashes, and
obstructive or e .... en downright destructive. Eut
sentiments may be suspected to be crucial
this very quality of opposition papers is the morc
etermini,,! lactors .
reason why we must have some of them. Their
unrestricted operation is one of the surest wa} ~
of tcsting the degree of tolerance and paticol.: ;;
that a part} m ro'~er can displa} under
pro't"Ocation.
~EEO FOR A~ opposnno, PAPER Will this work In Ghana. in the light of our
recent experience with opposition papers?
b\
J. Oppong.Ag)'ar• . Why not? Until the publishers of the Ew!nillg
Standard (Accra) decided to discontinue tb.. !
II RJ. is a nc.:d for an opposition paper in Ghana publication as a result of financial embarrass-
call for onc is primarily based on the ment, the paper was doing weU. This may come
pn,pclSition that, because truth is seldom foood at as a surprise (0 many people in the country.
extremes. a juxtaposition of contrary. or even especially those who support the government.
and opposi te vie,"'s, is good for the because the paper specialized in scathing
practice of democracy in any human criticism. And it brought a lot of discomfiture to
many people in the government.
There may be some people In the COllnlr) wbo
likely to say that there is no need for thi~ Go\ocmmcntal Intervention
at this time. because all the papers in the
l o,un>lr) are presumably frcc to publish whatever However Irritatmg the paper '\'a~. it .... as fulfill-
want. and thaL the} do in fact publish , .. hat 109 a very important role. by giving the people
to them to be in the puhlic interest. of Ghana the other side of the story.
th~e people a true opposition paper appears Much of the digging that resulted from the
have nUIsance value at best At .... orst it is a paper seemed to be in the ultimate interest of
hindrance. a positive. disruptive medium. the taxpayer. If for no other reasons than these.
not tru~t the independent papers and the there is a need for the cstablishment of a paper
government papers to give praise where for the opposition. But who is prevtnting such
::~i:s:?-uue and apportion blame if that IS a paper from being cstablished? Surely the Ne ..... s.
paper LicenSing Act that formerly made thing~
The truth of the mailer is that there is no difficult for prospective publishers has been n:-
~:: to beat onc that is devoted 10 a parlicular pealed! But that is only part of the stor). The
, An independent paper may sometimes find main difficulty is financialln a counry like Ghana.
championing the cause of the opposition. to staT( a good paper that ha'l any chance of
in more articulate terms than even a celebrating its first and second anniversary in
opposition paper may hope to do. But. for the publishing world demands a governmental
effectiveness of argument and st} Ie of intervention.
of facts. no other paper can ever So. what is being seriously suggested here i~
deputize lor • truly oppositioo paper. Besides. that the Government must belp establish an
raJ ~tioa paper may specialjze in the oppooi tiqo paper in the COUlltry! The fate 01
April 1970 THE LEGON OBSERVER 5
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1970 11fE LEGON OBSERVER 7
ORIGINS OF THE RHODESIAN CRISIS gold or diamond or copper ore was exploited.
Social infrastructure like schools. hospitals, clinics,
by et cetera, were provided. and were well-equipped
to ensure that an enlightened and healthy white
C. C. K. Dzak pasu population was always maintained.
Cecil Rhodes came to Africa in the last Before the African was able to realise the
of the 19th century, nobcx1y knew his painful fact that the whiteman had completely
was to confound and frustrate the Afric- taken over the economy of Rhodesia, the latter
common sense and so climb to the top of was fully prepared militarily. financiaUy and
political and economic ladder over their dead psychologically to defend himself, his acquired
La Benguela. the Matabele king, received wealth, and the new physical developments he
memorable warmth and pageantry, the
had made in Rhodesia. Rhodes and his band of
British trader who turned out to be
capitalists had passed into history. Their children
number one empire builder. had followed suit. It is now their great grand-
In course of lime Cecil Rhodes was able to children who control every aspect of tife in
lo'lVince the Africans that their wealth lay unaer Rhodesia.
feet, in the form of minerals. and that
would be worthwhile if more British traders Realistic Appraisal
~e"t to Matabcleland and helped rn tapping this
wealth in minerals. The charm exerted It appears that those who say the whites
the white skin of Cecil Rhodes and the myth should go home have failed to understand the
to him as a demi-god. who had come whole issue. Where is home? There are today some
deliver the African from his woes, made the whites now in Rhodesia who have never been to
~,~~~~ readily agree to the proposal for a Britain. Rhodesia is their home. They or their
f mflux of whites. They came in their hun- parents have helped in building Rhodesia into
Treaties of trade and protection were something like a modern industrial state. Ian
concluded between the whites and their Smith. for example, was born and bred in
hosts. No African was thea in a position Rhodesia. So, the question of Rhodesia being
participate in drawing up the various mining for only the Africans is untenable. The crisis
reements.. Rhodes and his henchmen drew up in Rhodesia calls for a realistic and meaningful
agreements and L~ Benguela endorsed them analysis. The original inhabitants of Australia
his thumb-print. Soon, schemes for the were the Aborigines, but today the whites control
of the mines, the immediate environ- government and policy in that country. The
and the outlying villages, were drawn up Maoris. the indigenous people of New Zealand.
executed. Matabeleland was taking on a new have had to subordinate their interests to those
I~~ It .....' 3S therefore no wonder that the Mata- of the whites so as to live in relative "Comfort. The
be embraced the suggestion that their land Red Indians and the Eskimos in Canada are
should be called "Rhodesia", after the mineral now a subordinate people in their own land.
[arc:hit,<;t Cecil Rbodes. These changes have come about as a result of
educational. cCOflomic and technological faclors
Economic Development then beyond the understanding and control of the
native populations of these countries.
The whites fclt that there was no need gomg
back to Britain when the climate and the wealth This is exactly the situation in South Africa
of Rhodesia were no different from those at home. and Rhodesia. British and American investments
Thus the whites became permanent settlers. The in South Africa have indirectly made the apar-
theid regime of that country formidable. Now,
African did not realise this in time. hence the
Rhodesia finds suitable allies in South Africa
present problem. The settlers multiplied and
and Portugal. World economic interdependence
grew fat on their new-found wealth. Because of has even made some Rhodesian commodities;
the new "settler" attitude. a determined eITort indISpensable in some world markets. In fact
was made to make Rhodesia look like home- tho::.e countries which are vociferous about apply-
Britain. Roads. railways. telegraphs and tele- ing and enforcing economic sanctions against
Rhodesia are the very ones which trade secretly
phones were provided. Mighty buildings were put with the "blockaded" country. The sanctions have
up for administrative purposes_ Every available become I melodrama to the Smith regime. and
•
24 April J 970 THE LEGON OBSERVER
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I AJIril 1970 TIlE LEGON O~RVER 11
legon film society
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•
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THE LEGaN OBSERVER 13
UNIVERSITY OF GHANA
ANNOUNCES
AGGREY·FRASER·GUGGISBERG
MEMORIAL LECTURES 1970
THEME: Students and Society I• n
the United States
BY
Professor CLARK KERR
Chairman, Carnegie Commission on Higher Education,
United States of America.
AT
THE GREAT HALL, lEGON HILL
•
MONDAY: 4th MAY, 1970 at 5.30 p.m.
A NEW WORLD·WlDE STUDENT MOVEMENT?
Chairman: DR. A. A. KWAPONG
Vice·Cbancellor.
TUESDAY: 5th MAY, 1970 at 5.30 p.m.
THE NEW STUDENT ACTIVISM IN THE UNITED
STATES. A SPECIAL CASE
Chairman: PROF. F. SEY
Pro-vice-Chancellor, University of Science & Technology
Kumasi.
WEDNESDAY: 6th MAY, 1970 at 5.30 p.m.
WILL STUDENTS BE A NEW SOCIAL FORCE IN
HISTORY?
Chairman: HON. MR. WILLlAM OFORI·ATTA
Minister for Education, Culture & Sports.
THURSDAY: 7th MAY, 1970 at 5.30 p.m.
THE IMPLICATIONS FOR THE UNIVERSITY
Chairman: DR. M. DOWUONA
Chairman, National Council for Higher Education.
FRIDAY: 8th MAY, 1970 at 5.30 p.m.
THE IMPLICATIONS FOR SOCIETY
Chairman: CHAIRMAN OF THE UNIVERSITY COUNCIL.
ALL ARE CORDIALLY INVITED
•
IHB ISOON 15
.. ..... I. are i'K/OmIMDaurate the di'OO • ., of DI bO mjr aI ore de~its ....
to the community. But Ibeir pelaolc 1m rDltlftl. But me.ned Dish" usins
• -fer ulery increasea are nev.. based SoIUm.Apollo ClpabiJitiel are likely to provo !be
,r;nODl with !beJi~~lyulent salaries Ibat thcateir cheapesl way to keep commcrcial sateltites of
III 1Dd_" are ... to earn b ut on • !be 1970's in continuous orbit. They will also
In Ibe- coot of 1iYing. come in bandy when lar!Dching repair oeNS into
arbit. ThiI mode of repair wiD DOt likely prove
not rath.. oaddeuiDg Ibat oue should to be meaper lbln buildi. .. aD up ..i ve multiple
mucb about "lory increases wheu some redundancy system into robol statioas.
I m 7. 6cI. a day and arc accused of poli- Thua at the Lunar Scimce Con'elt"CO ill
when they threaten strike actioD?
Houston in January Ibis year much uacfuI /
information was gleaned from experiments wi'!'
'1110 Apollo 13 Epilode Ibe rock samples so far accllmulaled. Thcrel:~
aaes. mm some unanimity that the moon is about 4.bOO Ibe of scicnce and
bave bad to make choices which bave million years old. that is. about the same 88C
as Ibe solar system. It has been confirlPed !bet
far some of Ibe highest qualities in maD:
perseverance" courage. vision, faith there is a preponderance of iron ~ the ID(X)Il
Such decisious have often been and an absence of water. This the lentists think
in Ibe face of grave dangers and risks. wiD be a set·back: for perm t bases on the
Captain Cook. mooo. They claim that life 0 the moon is bleak like Christopher Columbus.
and the moon's atmosphere is described as one
Einstein. and Christian Barnard have in
of "gloom and doom", However, scientists are
risen above Ibese challenges and have
bn:ak.tbrougbs which have brought ineal· convinced that more data from the mOOD will
pins enable them to understand better several of its to mankind.
features. For example. there is Dot enough
of these great men at the time had information to determine the nature of the interior
at Ibem. Cynics called them eccentrics. of the moon. As more and more shots are made.
now look back with pride at their achieve· not only will the surface of the moon be better
The risks involved in manned space Dights charled but more facts aboul the other planets
been clearly evident to the scientists. the and about radiations in space and their sources
and Ibe politicians who have taken will be obtained which will give a clearer picture
go-ahead decisions. Thcy have accepted and provide answers to questions which have
and have decided to brave the couse- plagued scientists since the time of Corpenicus.
That Ibey f. .1 equal to the challenge While we welcome the gallant astronauts back
from the fact that bolb the Soviet Uoion to earth. we hope research on the causes of the
I"", United States have DOt for onc moment oear..disaster would reveal better and safer
to put mea into orbit in space. The measures which would make continued flights
of mankind is involved in space explora. possible.
ThiI is wby we aU sbared. with anxiety.
of !be Apollo 13 men in Ibeir crippled
!&<:raft on IIisbopo ADd R their return journcy 10 earth and ebels III Rbodtsia
we are re\ieyed. indeed. delighted at their
M R. I:A N S MIT H'S fight wilb secular au-
retUio.
thorities in the world of economy and politics
!be Apollo 13 episode. the astronauts were has. apparently, produced points which have not
to ea&qe Jo manual control of their been in the favour of either of the parties in con-
!be rcault was a clear cIpuoustration of tention. Although the Rhodesian society has oot
aDd auF ior iDa Mlity or men as .crumbled as a resuh of U.N. economic sanct,ions.
rubac. it would be incorrect to think that Rhodes;a has
DOt felt !be impact of !be sanctious al an.
But the Smith regime, which declarcd indo-
pendence uniIalcraIJy in 1965 in oilier to save
white cuIIure and Christian civilization, is not
likely 10 ...... vcy MIl in its fight with those out- .•
spokcu reIiiioua lead. .. in hi. country.
A1rady, many bishops and otbcr cIcrgymca
April 1~70 I HE LEGON OBSERVER 17
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~pril 1970 THE LEGON OBSERVER
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VoL V No,lO 8 - 21 May 1970 Price lSnp,
" r." ",,, E"rIlIAL
GHANA'S AFRICAN FRIENDS
MENDING THERE CAN BE no doubt about the necessity of mending
politica1 fences between and among states as soon as it is
BROKEN discreet so to do; particularly where there's not only
nothing to lose but everything to gain, or regain. In Ghana
RELATIONS we once had many natural resources which almost by their intrinsic value alone made many friends for us and influenced
many people. in all sorts of ways and directions advan-
tageous or favourable to us. Nor were these just material
mrroRIAL . .. . I resources alone; there were human values as well. But
Ghlna', African Friendt then we squandered and frittered a lot of them away, aD
the one hand. On the other, some of our old friends. to
, .. . ' 2 add insult to injury, misjudged our motives when we tried
AtcbacoIOlY. Anthto90lolY aDd to halt the process, to rescue ourselves. cut our losses,
African Hillory salvage some of the disappearing goods. and restore our
Aba Auabct. Ayi. . favourable image.
'IIQ; ECONOMY '. Hence it was that after the coup of February 1966 we ,
Obana', Foreil" Debts had to send out high-powered delegations to explain our-
Kwabena Manu selves to our neighbours. in a necessary attempt. especially,
POLmCS 10 to pacify those of them who did not understand our revolt
against the C P,P. regime and had become openly con.
lqRdicntl of an African JdeololY- temptuous and hostile. With some of these our emissaries
Beyond the Nation-Statc
Oburoni Muotu succeeded: with others they did not. The East and Central
.lack Power and the Caribbean African block. especially. were irreconcileable: Presidents
A Political Conapoodent Nyerere, Obate and Kaunda were particularly bitter, and
oanuARY •. , .. , 14 in effect barked at us to get the hell out of their sight!
Lovelace Nub Kofa Ababio: Sekou Toure of Guinea of course went one long step
19)3-1970 further. as we all know.
S. ta-Anyane
We came back consoled by our successes and sorry at
OS'DVEJl NOO'UOO& .. 17 our failures. but not defeated over the latter. Indeed, as
Ohlna-Ivory Co. .. Rel.tiona - far as the extreme cases of Toure and Kaunda - to a
Ghana and Niaeria lesser extent also of Nyerere - were concerned we did in
Obana', Ties with Eut aad our tum tell them to go mind their own ruddy business
Central Africa
Ni.J:on and Cambodia too and keep their superior wisdom about our best interests
Rallia and DanODJtntiOnt to themselves! But quarrels like these between states
Lal lEkS .. .. struggling against the same kinds of internal and external .. 20
\. The Sallah Judpncnt enemies cannot rationally be allowed to continue indefinitely .
"P,M. and the $allah Cue That would be like indulging in the old and foolish game
The New Order of the nose and the face.
Political Demonltntionl
1'be Kumui Reaianatioftl It was therefore to be expected that at the right psycho.
hvivilll Pan-Afric:ania logical moment we would return to the self - as well as
ft.A Y IIEVmW mutual- interest task of winning back our former friends, 21
"Itq our fellow-travellers along t~ road to self.emancipation.
It. Ei', .i"Ia'ft"ao '" We of this paper. hke aU our countrymen. we hope, are
NaUI IIDII . happy to see that our new government has decided that , O . __ r 22 the psychological moment has arrived to try again to mend
May 1970 THE LEGON OBSERVER 1
fences between us and our partners in distress.
the notable rate of succel>S of the Victor Africa
missions to East and C,e ntral Africa is
to go by. we shall soon be in the ARCHAEOLOGY, ANTHROPOLOGY
position of again working in relative AND AFRICAN HISTORY
with our neighbours for tbe political By
economic redemption of black Africa_ Akua Asaabea Ayisi
The visit to Ivory Coast of the Prime Minister "When Io!. a man a man. or what is a
just ending. was not of quite the same man like devoid of his own definition
as that of the Foreign Minister to Uganda, of himself?" - Mazisi Kunene.
and those other countries on the other
of Africa; President Felix Houphouet. UNTil RECENTLY the words "African History"
and his country had become reconciled or the "History of Africa" merely drew open
us long ago through the N.L.C. That. how. contempt among historians and schola rs. and
~ver. does not minimise the task undertaken by were swiftly and derisorily dismissed as the signs
Busia in the Ivory Coast during the last o~ pitiful ignorance about the true meaning of
ortni or so. It was as important as Mr. history. It was assumed that Afric::,; had no
embassage to the East. It was a job history. In history books. examples abound of
only·part consolidation; mostly, it sought and how eaSily this was done; assertions about the
~~:Ii' a re-identification of mutual interests. non-existence of African history were generally
~ in the economic and social fields. accepted almost as if they were scientifically
established maxims.
As we indicate in some of our Notebook items
this issue. we do hope that both the remedial . Predictably since the advent of political
of mending political fences, and the Independence in large areas of the contment.
need to make friends and influence this view of Africa as a continent without a
~~~l~, will continue to engage that part of tbeir paSt has been considerably modified As Africam.
~ and attention which Dr. Busia and our other we are no longer told that·
must of necessity allocate to such We have nothing to do in the world
We are parasites of the world.
In this we give them congratulations for
And our job is to keep in line with the world
so far and wish them even greater
In the future. Questioning Old Ideas
Within the last two decades, the pendulum
~ms to have swung to the opposite direction:
qUlle a few reputable universities in England.
Europe and America which until recently would
ADVERTISE nev~r have t~lerated on their curriculla any subject on Afnca. unless it was about "colonial histo:y': or "the study of primitive races", have
flounshmg institutes of African studies which
1~c1ude courses in various aspects of African
history and institutions.
I N 'l:H E There are also the new African Universities
and University Colleges. founded in the wake
of political independence with a keen awareness
LEGON of the need to question some of the old idea.. a~ut Africa and Africans which were the ideo-
logICal handmaids of imperialism. In these institu-
~jons Of. learning the history of Africa is receiv-
OBSERVER mg senous attention. Gradually, it 100ks as th~ugh the myth tbat Africa bas no history is
~,"g exploded, and the picture of our past as
unpen~.bly dark appears to be fading. Yet the
- - ----- expkxjon 15 Dot so audible and the fading is
4
onlY around the edges. The central picture still development of the hi.'" computer. whir'
endures in many subtle but significant forms. man 's brain is, compared to !bat ." 0Ch« prim-
The truth is that. in spite of the salvaging ates, was the most notable adlievemaata". H«e
work of quite a few excellent modem historians. are echoes of Darwinism. with far n china
many dubious theories still cling to the subject, implications which boil down to the relative
so that the very idea of African history remains inferioritv of African history. •
somewhat emasculated. It bas still not achieved There may be found. in various African sites.
a right to exist independently of bizarre technic· millioo.year-old bones and skulls, but what are
alities of archaeology and anthropology. It is aU these compared with the wheel, the alphabet.
really no more than a glorified branch of the the printing press, Cbarlemagne, Newton and
social sciences. Mysterious anthropological Shakespeare? The weakness in this Darwinist
phrases, and curious archaeological terms are view of history, though. is that it issues forth
still put forward as African history. from a very controversial premise. Yet when
Currently. three different schools of thought archaeologists and anthropologists, whether as
in relation to the subject of African history are supporters or opponents of Darwinism, employ
discernible among historians. or "Africanists", archaeology and anthropology as instruments of
There is what one might caU the "Trevor Roper African history, the controversial nature of their
school", which bluntly questions any validity in premise is completely overlooked, For instance.
African history and scorns it as a subject with- an anthropologist or archaeologist may attach
out any "purpose" or "significance". This clearly great importance to "the significance of man's
belongs to the old school and it is pointless to origin from his primate ancestry" and look for
quarrel about it. Such a view takes it for grant- the development of traditions, and man's ability
ed that only Englishmen and Europeans have to transmit ideas, and social techniques of one
made history, One has merely to remember that. kind or another as in "themselves the material
among these allegedly unique aDd historical embodiment of ideas" and therefore cogent
peoples, there has. since the nineteenth century evidence. which "demonstrates a significant diver-
raged a nationalistic war of "historical superior- gence from the behaviour of man's primate
ity" which finally produced Hitler in Germany. cousins" .
That is certainly one example of a historical
"purpose" or "signi,ficance", But I think African No Real Answer
history can safely do without it, The Haw in this is that tbe question whether
or not man had any "primate cousins" is not
Penetrating the 'Darkness' without controversy among scientists. For Darwin
There is a second "school" which does not after all had as many informed opponents <t.s
overtly or perhaps even consciously denounce his renowned disciples. The plain fact is that.
the teaching or studying of African history, But evidence consisting of "the scatter of stone tools
this approach essentially belongs to the same and broken food bones on the site of million
school as the first, because they are moulded year old camp sites" does not reaDy answer the
in the same intellectual milieu, This school. big question in African history. It merely confirms
unlike the first. is not deterred by the supposed the dubiousness of the subject, if it is taken in
"darkness" of the subject. or at any rate does the context of what archaeologists understand as
not regard the darkness as "stark" and impene- "civilisation". namely "'a complexity of material
trable. They accept the darkness theory. but achievements readily demonstrated in the presem,'e
maintain that sparks of light from the tools of of cities. writing. currency. craft specialisalion".
archaeology and anthropology can, and on
When Trevor Roper dismisses African history
occasion do in fact. produce shafts of ligbt.
as devoid of purpose or significance. he merely
For this school. African history is the evidence
re-echoes the old familiar charge that in none
presented by researches in archaeology and
of these areas had Africa been a guiding ligbt
anthropology, In effect their contention is that
worthy of envy and emulation. Even if it is
the bulk of African history is pre-history. and
granted that such evidence as archaeologists and
is thus seriously impoverished by Jack of demon-
anthropologists can provide reveals that ·'evolved
strable achievements. conceptual thought" can exist without writing and
The missing achievements are supposed to be highly accomplished technical and artistic oehieve·
strictlY related to "an evoil.Jtion ·;n wh.ich. "the ""enlio possible without towns. the problap is
: May 1970 THE LEGON OBSERVER
lot disposed of. Firstly it is held that no such cultural and national destinies the "Berber
&Jrican conceptual thought has been identified; Africans" and "Black Sahara Africans" theory
md secondly, Africans are supposed to be was found to be a ready and convenient theory
nherently inferior because they did not produce and an effective weapon against continental
he wheel, the printing press, or a Shakespeare. African nationalism. For a time it fitted in
neatly with the notion that the Sahara had been
At best the only significance that such evid- a barrier between Black Africa and the rest of
;IDce may produce for people like Trevor Roper the world, and thus provided a plausible explana-
:5 the mere fascination of a supposedly unspoilt tion of why Africa slept while the rest of the
::harm of a primitive and dead culture. It is world. particularly Teutonic Europe, marched
:lathing but a kind of charitable Darwinism. Far towards their glorious imperial destinies. as the
from illuminating the darkness of African history chosen peoples of history.
it hardens the habit of looking at African history
from the exalted and impressive heights of other The 'barrier' idea is gradually fading. It seems
peoples' achievements in history, from a creative now accepted that:
past far back into the remote and dark. ages, Though dessicated, the Sahara was still
when lizardlike men oozed from the pnmeval important for culture contact between
slime. the period of its desertion by the pastor-
. These Darwinian presumptions are not the only ali5ts around 3,500-2.500 Be and the
shackles of African history. There are other pet commencement of the camel caravan
~beories, such as the 'Berber' theory by which trade of Islamic times.
lhe peoples of the African continent are classified
!into semi-white 'berber-races' and black sub- Potent Dividing Factors •
~hara races of negroid stock. Other theories As between "black Africans" and Algerians the
meant to estabUsh that the Sahara desert had sense of separatism cannot therefore be attribut-
iinsulated Africa from outside influence. All these ed to the assumption, by some writers, that
are based upoll highly controversial, and some- Algerians "neither fee) nor look like Africans".
times dubious. 1Wvidence. It is possible after all to feel a sense of com-
munity with a people without looking or feeling
Ethnological Divisions like them. For instance we are told that "the
Cartesian spirit is deeply rooted among the
Yet there has been little or no hesitation in Algerian intellectuals" yet the last thing they
sing them to contradict any attempt to clothe want surely is to feel or look like the French.
the skeletons of archaeological and anthropolo- On the other hand the Algerians do feel and
ieal researches with the flesh of imaginative look like their Eastern brothers. but that fact
influences from other historical facts. Try, for alone has not bred in them a sroog sense of
instance, to find out at least why it is that a cultural unity. Obviously the Algerians have
"materially and technically rich civilisation" like imbibed French separatist ideas about "black
that of ancient Egypt failed to have the same Africa". Those ideas are that, far from any
impact on Africa as Greece has had on Europe, affinities with us, black Africans belong exclusive-
and you would promptly be found guilty ly to the same black racial stock as the bush-
of "weeping hypothesis". men of South Africa. Such ideas are far more
One must bear in mind that the very ethnolo- potent dividing factors than physical and cultural
gical division of Africans into "sub-saharan differences .
blacks" and Northern "Berber Africans" is more It is important to find out why and how the
a matter of colonial political convenience than history of North Africa was "deliberately and
objective history or proven facts. It was foster. systematically re-written" by the French. If not
ed by the French colonialists in North Africa with new hypotheses. jn the light of new evidence.
primarily to counteract Pan Arab nationalism. how else are the distortions which are inherent
In essence, therefore, it is a racial separatist in such a systematic and deliberate re--writing at
theory which was used to buttress the colonial other peoples' history to feed the nationa,!
system of "divide and rule". When in recent vanities of colonialjsts to be examined and
years we Africans South of the Sahara also began exposed? For instance in a recent discourse on
to assert ourselves and to demand political the role of archaeology in African history, Prof,
autonomy as well as a right to shape our own M. Posnansky of the University of Ghana. has
IHB U!GON VBR
denounced the use of hypotheses in African gal evidence,. they are not uaduly '* IE.. d
history as either Us counsel of defeat or an either the supposed darI<ness of Africu bisbX}'.
acknowledgement of Qver.-scanty sources of nor are they pre-occupied with Usjmjljaritia 01'
information", divergence from mao's primate cousins", FuDy
I should think this is one example of how conscious of the limitatioos of the subject. they
difficult it is, given even the best will and the have tried to approach African history with the
most scrupulous objectivity in the world, to be same imagination as they would bring to _
wholly liberated from the prejudices and presump- upon considerations of their own history. or
tions which are accepted tenets in one's 'intel- to that part of their own history for which there
lectual milieu'. For though it may appear, by is scanty evidence.
the bulk of Prof. POSDansky'S observations, that
Moreover, they realise that, history has 'pur-
he neither accepts a counsel of defeat nor acknow- poses' or 'significances' which are universal.
ledges over -scanty sources of information. he
does not go the whole way, because he also Admittedly, the current predominance of
berates what he describes as: archaeology. anthropology and other 'sciences' in
the study of history is not confined to the study
A tendency for historians. particularly of African history. Nor must one deny that
in the university of London. to regard
archaeologists and anthropologists have made
the study of tropical Africa during the
great contributions towards the redisoovery of
first millennium A .D . as African history the African past in recent years. It is largely
rather than as pre-history. thanks to their patient and meticulous labours
He would prefer the opposite practice in Britain that it has become possible to put forward the
and America where "pre-Columbian history is view that:
rarely accorded historical status" just as the
"There is an unbroken sequence of
millennium preceding Julius Caesar is denied
human development. from man's origin,
historical status in Britain. though according to
probably in some part of the drier areas
him "for both these periods there probably are
of tropical Africa some two to three
more evidence than for the first millennium million years ago up to the present
A. D. of most of Sub-Saharan Africa".
day" and that "Africa, the most popu-
Scrutinising the TheorieS' lous continent in the stone age. was at no
time far from the mainstreams of
I wonder/ if Professor Posnansky's "sub-saharan human history"
Africa", is substantially different from the "sub-
saharan Africa" of the French proponents of Obsession With Bare Facts
Berber North Africa doctrines. If it is, then
surely whoever wants to broaden the perspective Not long ago. any such proposition would have
of African history. break down its isolation, and been instantly submerged in the scornful smiles
reveal its significance and purpose - three of many a distinguished historian. Yet the pur-
important objectives in African history to which poses of history do Dot consist merely in the
Prof. Posnansky succinctly refers - must first presentation of factual or even 'scientific' evi-
scrutinise this huge and intimidating legacy of dence. and such an objective is Dot more impor-
theories which were originally formulated with tant than the efforts wruch have been made by
the primary object of reshaping the African past historians to retain the past u the source of vital
for the beoefit of others. Such an exercise would and creative element in the living present. This
seem to me to be more important than the most is why as distinguished a historian as Prof. J. H.
unusual archaeological discovery. not only Plumb bas recently lamented what he regards as
because it would illuminate the 'darkness' of the destruction of the past by a highly develop-
African history. but also because it would give ed aod highly sophisticated approach to history,
greater meaning to the labours and discoveries of and bas likened the obsession with bare facts 10
archaeologists and anthropologists in the study history:
and teaching of African history. To the wood worm which makes itseH
Let us now tum to the third school, which hap- at home in the timbers of some ancient
pily brings us to the heart of the matter. It is building, invisible to the naked eye. yet
open-minded and is championed by such writers inoessantly at work on its task of
as Roland Oliver, J. D. Fage aod Basil Davidson. erosion and destruction which does not
Without ignoring archaeological and anthrnpolo- become apparent until the entire edifICe
May 19'10 TIlE LEGON OBSERVER 7
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8 May 1970 THE LEGON OBSERVER
9
after the 1968 rescheduling exercise that the Attempts are being made to obtain the refinanc-
country could still not achieve a reasonable rate ing of our debts in place of the costly exercise
of development under the terms of the reschedul- of rescheduling. The meaning of refinancing is
ing exercises and that there was an urgent Deed that creditor countries will provide new credits
for the incoming civilian government to take to enable Ghana to continue debt service pay-
another look: at the problem. ments; that is. a fresh loan will be contracted
in place of the original debt in order to payoff I
This is the raison d' eIre for a further pay- existing debts, the new loan may be made by 'j
ments arrangement with our creditors. an arrange-, the governments of our creditors. If the newt v
meot that will give the government a breathing loan is given on long-term basis, then the I
space to embark on its objectives. The debt
refinancing constitutes a moratorium. that is, \1 "
problem is to be viewed against the government's Ghana could achieve a respite of say 30 years
policy of tackling the basic problems facing the ,
before resuming transfer of debt service pay~ ,
country and which the government is committed
to solve. e.g. developing the infrastructure of ments.
the rural areas. A further attempt at working No doubt, an agreement on refinancing will
out a better arrangement with our creditors is provide the relief necessary for the government
imperative because in the first place the previous to achieve a diversion of resources into major
arrangements were not the best that the country development efforts. On purely economic con~
could have had. taking into account the capacity siderations, refinancing is in the long-term interest
of Ghana to pay. Our creditors took the rather of our creditors; for if we are pushed far with
short-sighted view that the debts were purely our backs to the wall, and if the government
commercial and they were more interested in stands firm on.. its election promises, then the
getting the maximum they could get rather than only logical course to take is to default. On the
sympathetically considering the adverse effects of other hand, if a refinancing is achieved, and if
the debt payments on Ghana's long-term develop- investments are channelled into productive areas.
ment efforts. the growth of the economy will generate sufficient
resources with which to make debt service pay-
A Major Obstacle ments at a future date. A solution therefore of
our debts is essential to a reasonable rate of
Secondly. the debt service burden is a major economic development in the next few years.
obstacle to the future development of the economy
and must somehow be solved. Without a proper
solution commensurate with our ability to pay No Debt Is Sacrosanct
•
the economy cannot generate growth through the
provision of more job openings, and the liberalisa- The Prime Minister has recently said that our
lion of imports of essential goods. Unless the debts are going to be X-rayed presumably
whole debt problem is cleared, the government
cannot formulate any meaningful long-term because none of the debts is sacrosanct. What
development plan for the country. The present has not been made clear so far by the govern-
government is committed to an improvement in ment is whether in the event of our creditors
the standard of living of the people in this agreeing to a moratorium we will let sleeping
country and unless they see their way clear, there
dogs lie or whether - refinancing or not -
is very little they can do to fulfil their election
promises. the exercise of reviewing the debt will still go
on. It is important to know the government's
Thirdly, the new call for better payments
arrangement is firmly based on economic justifica- policy on this; there are many thoughtful Ghana-
tion backed by technical analysis of the balance ians who are dissatisfied with the peculiar circum~
of payments and other considerations which were stances surrounding some of the debts. The best
ignored in the two previous reschedulings.
way the government can derive the maximum
Having given reasons why a new payments support from the public on this major and
arrangement is necessary, the next problem is:
complex issue is to take us into its confidence.
what sort of arrangement do we want which will
nOl place undue obstacles in our development After all, whatever decision the government takes
aspiration? is bound to affect all of us one way or the other.
10
Politics progress is bunliDg tbrou&h the DIllOw boundaries drawn by IDOII8IdlS d4 .... tia1s
lists in the eighteenth and njnetMlliI ....t ury;
INGREDIENTS OF AN AFRICAN IDEO- hence democratic EuroP"'n, have be·
LOGY - BEYOND TIlE NATION-STATE thrown into a protracted crisis of supnaa-
by tional unification ... Where once oatioD4
Oburoni Muntu hood was the proud achicvem JiU of a few
peoples isolated from the rest of h,,_nity.
THE central political gospel of our time, virtually it now has become the vocal aspiration of
everywhere among that half of the world's 130 peoples all linked tightly through modem
states which attained independence during the meaDS of communication and transport.
past thirty years, is that the key to progress is Where once the nation· state was the symboJ
nation-building. It is not surprising that this of sovereign power and unfettered indepen-
faith is so widely held. As Danlcwart Rustow says dence. today it means interdependence and
In the opening pages of his thoughtful book common peril. Sometime in the nineteenth
A World of Natiolls : century in Europe. modernization was wed-
Nation and modernity arc among the most ded to tbe nation~state. and in Asia and
potent ideals of the twentieth century_ They Africa that alliance is being consummated
are distinct in concept but often reinforce anew il\ the present day; but unless the
each other in practice. Scientific discovery, marriage contract is renegotiated or dissolv.
new technical skills, and industrial produc- ed in voluntary separation. it may weD tum •
tion are among the tools of modernity; into a suicide pact.
among the emotions of nationhood are
common purpose and mutual trust. Nationa- Crisis of Modernization
Jily can lay the social foundation for the
division of labour in modem science and All this is given special point by the meaning
industry; and the desire for modernity can he attaches to modernization, which 'denotes
bring national loyalties into focus . . . rapidly widening control over nature through
Together nationalism and modernity form closer cooperation among men.' In this sense it
an arena of tacit assumptions in which the is plainly a goal almost universaUy accepted. and
vocal battle between political ideologies such Rustow cannot readily be faulted when he asserts
as democracy and communism has been in summing up his argument here, that 'only
fOUght. societies transformed into nations have shown
themselves capable of attaining the more ad·
... The nation·state. Like modernization. vanced forms of modernity, and only modernizing
has roots, having grown out of the dynastic nations are likely to retain their identity in the
states of the twelfth to eighteenth century. present era of modernization.'
But Western Nationalism did not burst forth
fully until the American and French Revolu· Even so. he concedes that other possibilities
tions, and in that same period it became may yet emerge: 'It is conceivable that in some
linked to modernization. Since then. in Latin future period .'the connection between modemiza·
tion and nationality will disappear. that Moder·
America. Asia. and Africa, nationhood and
nization will find expression in political institu-
modernity have appeared as two facets of a tions that transcend and transform the nation·
single transformation-a dual revolution state.'
loudly proclaimed and often ardently desired The case 'I want to argue is that the world is
but never accomplished quickly or with ease. moving into a crisis where the continuation of its
Nevertheless. the nation·state is already run· modernization, as Rustow terms it. or its pro-
gress as more commonly put. depends on finding
ning into trouble in the Europe which brought it such new institutions; that the parts of the
forth; and it poses severe problems of inter· world which have both the greatest Deed and the
communication in our rapidly shrinking globe. best chance to devise them are those where the
Rustow indeed notes these two points just two nation-state has developed least; that of aU such
• parts. Africa has the greatest need and the best paragraphs beyond the passage quoted above: chance of all; that African society and culture
. . . In Europe. economic and technical already contains in embryo some of the means
May 1970 THE LEGON OBSERVER
I I
devices that are needed for the supersession
the nation-state; but that Done of this can
l>"le about. and the creative contribution that
can make to the advancement of mankind
not be made, unless and until Africans devc-
that special spiritual self-reliance which What makes Signal
one to make use of one's own cultural
and to cease to want or need to emulate so from
All the ingredients of an adequate African other
must be blended together at once, every
needs all the rest : we can be sure
ourselves. of our place in the world, only
"'hl:n we know what kind of special contribution
can make to the common life of mankind.
we can know only when we know where to
in our own culture and heritage for .the
of this contribution; but to be able to do
we need faith in ourselves and the courage
break. the habit of relying aU the while on
'esterln, or at any rate boreal. models.
New Economic Developments
Part of the indictment of the nation·state has
been prepared by Rustow, in the words
quoted ; it is too small for the
economic and technical developments that IT's THE
coming into being. and it does not fit a pat-
Jeln of interconnectedness. If this is true for
highly developed countries. with
incomes and populations of fifty millions IN THE RED STRIPES!
more, can it be less true for small, poor.
countries? Even Nigeria. which This Vital Element Give. You
of its size on our continent. is no morc Strong Healthy Clean White Teeth
I ~;,~:~~~, Pure Fresh Breath than the United Kingdom or Western
I( and only slightly more so than Italy Healthy Gums
France: and its purchasing capacity, its size A Genn-free Mouth
a market. is no greater than that of Manchester.
r- ~------..., I
A country like Ghana. for aU its relative YoUR TtET1I SIGNAL
l:wI,.lth in Africa. provide:, no economic market
for any industry worth looking at twice. The
I;""m, applies to qu~tjons of supply of raw mate-
rials. etc.: we all remember the corned-beef
factory which could have used the entire cattle
population of Ghana in six weeks. Any but the
most footling kinds of economic development
depend absolutely on effective cooperation with
•
at least other West African countries. if not those •
beyond our own part of the continent.
All this is quite well known: the planning
experts, the ECA people, and others, have been
SB)ing it for years. But it still seems to be thought
m apparently responsible circles that you can
bave it both ways-that ),ou can build close links
12 1HE U!GON OBSERVER
with other countries. move toward economic Work. Busia called for ''Prost - Sure";
union, while simultaneously making it more diffi- yalta for "Harambee" - Eva,.,.., PlUm, ..,.
cult for their citizens to come to your country_ 80ther - and ..e n Hitler noted about "LiviDI
Vet the moves towards tighteoing up controls Space".
over non-citizens. the devising of new means of
"Black is Beautiful"; "Say it Loud rm
ticketing and docketing everyone and making
and Proud; "Black: Power" - these are some 01.
sharp distinctions between Ghanaian citizens and
the powerful slogans of today. It is therefore to be
everyone else, are all quite consistent with the
expected that ambitious politicians everywhere
philosophy and policy of nation-building. should seize upon them. "Say it Loud" was adop-
Buliding a nation means minimising all distinc- ted by ODe party very recently here in Ghana,
tions inside the frontiers and maximising all those for example. But it might be superficial to read
between nationals and non-nationals. Of course, from the scattered use of every slogan the neces.-
Ghana makes it exceptionally difficult for a nOD- sary existence of much more than a common sym.
citizen to acquire citizenship. by comparison with patby recognised as useful by certain politicians.
most countries; but even if she didn't. the same An infrastructure of political1y organjzed co.ope.-
principle would apply. H yOll are trying to make ration may fol1ow, but it is not necessarily implied.
a nation-state out of something which is not as soon as the slogan is used. Is "'Black Power··
that, you can only do it by emphasising that all such a slogan?
or most of its denizens have in common and
The question arises whether or not the "Black
rejecting whatever they share with outsiders. as
Power Movement" has "spread to the West
far as possible. A nationalist economic policy.
Indies", as many observers throughout the world
in this sense of "nationalist". is one which seeks
have somewhat glibly interpreted. Some examina.
to foster first and foremost the presumed com~
tion of the structure and relationship of Black
mon economic interests of citizens against those
Power to the differing political realities of the
of outsiders; ruch a policy is simply not compa~
Uruted States and the Caribbean seems called for.
tible with establishing wider economic ties
and larger units. You cannot have it both ways. New Demands
Thus Preston King's suggestion. already twice
Men have more often agreed on what needs to
quoted. that we are "presented not merely with
be done than on how to do it. The American •
the task of nation building. but, equally, with
as Negro has consistently sought social justice since the challenge of making a continent" is, it
the days of formal slavery and before. Various
stands, quite misleading. Properly understood. methods of changing his lot have been tried, and,
and certainly in the IQng economic term. we are while Dot universally discarded, several formerly
presented not with the task of nation building popular approaches have successively lost favour
but instead with the challenge of making a with new leaders - prayer. the freedom marches
continent. and sit~ins. and Luther King's non·violeot Civil
Rights Movement are among them.
There is a lot more to be said about the nation~
state and why and how we can and should do Today the "moderate" leaders of yesterday
without it. Meanwhile, another ingredient of an and their white liberal associates are often vio-
African ideology can be offered as: lently denounced. The demand is no longer foe
equal status within American Society - but foe
Building nations ;s against Africa's long~ recognition as a separate cultural entity or nation.
term economic ;ntuests. outside of a "white" America. The term Negro
has become discredited - "Afro-American" and
BLACK POWER AND THE CARIBBEAN now "Black" and African~American have replaced
By it. Simultaneously the writings and pronounco-
A Political Correspondent ments of several more racially assertive opinion-
• • formers. as Baldwin predicted in The Fire Nqa
EVERY politician seeking the sympathy and active Tim~ and other- works. have been eothllSilSticaDy
support. not to say sacrifice, of a people uses received. Most important. of course. is Eldridge
slogans. This is not a moral judgment but a uni~ Cleaver's Soul on Ice. but other works seek to
versal observation. Julius Nyerere once called for free the "Black" mind from "White" VlIIues II1II
"'Uhuru na Umoja" - Freedom and Unity _ consequently d~maging psychol~ coafuIioo.
and again uUhuru na Kazi" - Freedom and But this must lead to the rhetoric of .......t i.no
..... far
_ .........0 •• nuL
lUI ill aM rt J'''", ...
cJad. 1Ia>e ....
for the mI. 01.
idmjjllcd II !be
to ... c'" local CClDdi. oppooition bu ICCIwed d"_
_. II ud bu ......M ' d Toms" or the mere IteWIfdI of. tordin co:acmic
aad economic COD· ....t e. Now that the popu1or aIoS M of
!lOt SIGce miJratiOll, Power" bave be!' .. [5 to bave consMlerabJo
die. SaudI. but to aD !be citica of appeal. there is more talk of "bloa" aad "wbi!e"
appE n to be iDae siD&. aDd but the detail ......i Da econMIic. 1be hac II 01.
aad ratea ill !be the Caribbeaa Black Po". Mo¥ z at aD .p.
far laia' then natima. avenge remain Salor Castro and evcD Cha;mwn .·ao
aad aymP.lhrtk: ...d im<e for !be wbo are bardly "bid". 1be honnotreIt d! d
Powst • Ie 1M assured for IDIny include Ole Guevara aad Ho Oti Minh.
of Ansa focI'y iIlWgia· Trouble la tile
_, II • "dream" of very low This is not to say that aeparatials like the Ru
a cae .(It of academic Tafarians (named after Tafari Makomsen, DOW
A .....' " ita adb .....t s, Diad< .... known as Hai1e Sello ..; ") bave DO iofJumce ill
* flom South·Put Asia ore • the CariN>ean They bave bad • following for 'iftcant "<D. Some of the skin. years-but theirs is DOl OIl the inc:I' .." , 1be
_"' III !be mIIi1ary ore not irrelevant DIo<k MOOim. aIoo bave inBu 4 aad more
CMfNutation. Bul, II here ill Africa, recently even the Panthers, but it is poII. . ty aad
of folk are also ops>\enw M close illlltapmition that II tho ...
Nixon ip ,b of social irritanL And the ..u.. .. "'" of • fIourisbing
01. aublidy for "l\Ioc!r tourist trade does Dot .. thaL S&ious riota
, • occuned in B«amwJa aad I._ica Jut year, As
v. .... we 10 to prex aome soIdien are eItarpII wldo 'PoW Ir' Groups
, treason iD Trinid'" aDd the ltate of em '8 cy
orl • .,au. . th ... II not }et ov .... But !be basis of '3. Powm copt Pu "'1'1 in the filial -'7sis of the .... iIla' 6.ay major pIoiWion 01. _D by in the
..., .... aima ill ((*"-1(10
with their colonie, beaitqe of socje, ud e&XI'ODIjc
.11>0101 01. ..... '0101 anic:IduIII aad
at iajustic:e. flow abe ... 0114 +ina Iit. .t ica ill ... ' 5e the III" policed co'. Jbottoo. And lflii. Ihe tact that Ihe
vfatlente ........
JneaI ne Nation :::e-~_.- 01. the .w.:. n Iii Ip 1ta pIbee.
merica
HeN ill Ald. doll. Itt. t botb III
Ami k:a aad Ifla WId .. die _,em III
_ ..... Co ow" '., !bel .. AIoo. we II! :. llali .... the CldI!IS1!I In-
. '. ..I. .li t R ' \01 ." -:eofAflb_ ".twowaypoc. HeN fa III _ c:IIJ JUDd!. admire
~AIlo· !!l)lfI: ... Ihe baIn!ut. if Ibat II
_14_ ________________. ~I~~t_.~~~~omm~~Rv~E~R~ __________~
this continent and the integration of all peoples tural Officer in the Ministry of Alri",J!W6
there. wbile at the same time subscribing to uB1ack. graduation in 1958. In this "'pacity. be
Power" in its more racial forms. several parts of the country and was put in
of extension education in the Kete K.rachi
U we were to so subscribe. in our present cir-
He very quickly established himself as a COlI
curru;tance we might well be led to take recourse
in petent officer of the Ministry. and within in psychological analysis and define that, the
years of his appointment be was selected by
special post-colonial case, black can be white.
government to join a delegation of four to
But with all respect to Fanon, Dot everyone is
sent Ghana at the 15th session of the
mentally muddled. Honesty may well demand.
conference in Antananarivo in the MaJ.plY
whatever the slogan, whatever the political
public in February. 1960.
method. that we carry the limited political inter-
pretation of "Black Power" a step further and The practical field experience which be
expose tyranny where it exists with neither con- acquired as an agricultural officer also . >Uta
fusion nor compromise. to his success as a lecturer in Animal Science
the University of Ghana. His field of specia1i·.
tion was livestock production. He was
- -.~- .- interested in the proouction of cattle and sheep.
As a lecturer in this special field, Mr. Ababio
Obituary showed a robust personality and certainly left a
lasting impression on all the students who "arne
under his care. He wrote several articles, includina
LOVERIDGE NUKU KOFI ABABIO substantia1 contribution to Background to Agricul-
1933-1970 tural Policy in Ghana, published. by the Univer·
sity of Ghana Faculty of Agriculture in 1969.
By S. La·Anyane Mr. Ababio's contribution, while a lecturer in
Professor and Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture this University, did not end in the lecture theatre
University of Gbana, Legan. and on the research station where he undertook
Nux.u KOF! ADABIO came to Legan in the Mic- research and trained students in practical agricul.
haelmas term of 1963/64 as lecturer. He was 30 ture. He was actively involved. in many other
years old. He had won the Master of Science de- activities within the University and outside of it.
gree in Animal Science at the Prairie View Agri- He was a Tutor of Mensah Sarbah Hall and served
cultural and Mechanical College a year earlier. on several committees and boards.
During his tenure at that institution, he earned
and maintained a high academic record. He im- Valuable Contributions
pressed his tutors as a person with an inquisitive
in He was a member of the management committee mind and as a competent student all aspects
of the Animal Research Institute. Animal Science
of Animal Husbandry.
Society. and the Agricultural Society of Ghana.
Legon was not new to Kofi Ababio. He was He retained his linlcs with tIle University after
one of the few students to graduate in agriculture leaving it to engage in a private commercial agri-
in the pioneering days of the Faculty of Agricul- cultural enterprise, and served as a Director of
ture of the University of Ghana. The Faculty the University of Ghana Farm Enterprises until
was in those days a Department of Agriculture his final day. He was also a member of the Board
of the University College of the Gold Coast. Kofi of Directors of the Ghana Commercial .Bank and
Ababio was in the class of 1958, which had nine a founding member of the Legon Society On Na-
students. This class was a considerable improve- tional Affairs. publishers of the "Legan Observer".
ment in numbers over the initial years of 1956 A good debater. and generously imbued with •
and 1957 when there were three students, and one sense of humour. Mr. Ababio was always a plea.
student, in agriculture respectively. A general sure to listen to at society and committee meet-
Bachelor of Science degree in agriculture was ings. In his very pleasant and likeable manner, be
awarded at the end of a three-year programme. always made a valuable contribution to the buai-
Kofi Ababio had no difficulty whatsoever in suc- ness of the aociety or committee on which be
cessfully completing the course, grading above sesvcd.
average. After serving the University for five yean. Mr.
Mr. Ababio accepted the position of Agricul- Ababio decided to accept • cbaUease with .......
y 1970 THE LEGON OBSERVER 15
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1970 THE LEGaN OBSERVER
17
Notebook neighbours if this problem is to be solYed, And it is only one of several problems.
One senses that the affirmations of friendship
Ghana-Ivory Coast Relations and of common interest have gone beyond what
protocal requires, and that therefore we can hope
is the key-note in the relations for the quick solution to our border and other
most states: our relations with the Ivory problems with the Ivory Coast. Of particular
flO. are no exception, and most observers will importance is the fact that a measure such as
nothing but pleasure at the warm reception the recent Aliens' Compliance Order has neither
tard,:d Dr. Busia and his high-powered cotour- been misunderstood nor misconstrued by our
now visiting that country. I vorian brothers and sisters.
fluctuations marked the Nkrumah era It is our hope that while maintaining accord
well as more recent regimes. In the ear her through the Friendship Games and other cultural
Nkrumah's support of the dissident media. we shan be humble enough to want to
was a considerable source of friction. Jearn from the Ivorians the method by which
Isicles, in the ideological sphere, the two Presi- they have been able to grow enough food for
had openly challenged each other to • their population. This is the first step to the solu-
&-vear contest with a view to seeing whjch tion of our economic problems. If the Ivorians.
!>de of development would prove more effective with geographical conditions similar to our own.
Nkrumah's radical socialism or Houphouet- cannot help us in this regard hardly anyone
emphasis on capitalism as an economic else can.
more recent days, border troubles in the Ghana and Nigeria
to"g-.Ahala area have been a cause for concero.
is entirely appropriate. therefore, that Dr. TALKING ABOUT political fences and intra-African
first excursion into the African arena interests. recently there has been a bit of a
his accession to the Premiership should be storm-in-a-teacup tossing back and forth between
visit to the Ivory Coast. Indeed those eye- "Ghaoa" and "Nigeria", that is, as staged by
1oy" which were dramiiically raised when Dr. sections of the mass media apparatus of the
jetted away to the U.S.A. and Europe two countries. In our humble opinion these were
on his assumption of the Premier- wasted efforts. Nigeria Radio first broadcast a
could be seen being lowered as dramatically vitriolic attack on Ghana over the aliens business.
the announcement of the current visit. coupled with our alleged official and unofficial
But what lies behind the diplomatic niceties support of ex-Biafra. A section of the Nigerian
to us by the information media? The press took up the cry (although in fact there had
is that it makes plain economic and human been previous attacks, all over), to be followed
that we should have cordial relations with in due course by the self-defence of Ghana and
Francophone brothers and sisters. Our ethnic a counter attack on Nigeria by a section of the
with them are very close. and cultural pat- Ghana press. It was all done mostly by name
are nearly identical. Our correspondent was calling. by cbarging and counter charging. And
surprised to have been treated to it ended as it had begun. in smoke.
. plantain futu in lackviUe early last year. We ought to be paying close attention to
Smuggling is an area demanding close examina- matters of substance, to realities, instead. Attacks
b} the two countries. Our strategy for generated in or by the respective national mass
;anarn,ic development - not to mention our media may in truth be straws in the wind; now
for things foreign - bas made it necessary and again they may have to be taken up and
prohibitive customs and excise duties to be answered back in kind. But more often than
&vi,'" on imported goods. Neither Togo nor the nOl this amounts to mere chasing after shadows;
Coast shows this tendency. Hence con- the real diplomatic game is meanwhile being
~::er goods are sometimes five times as dear played at a vastly higher level - not necessarily
~I as in the neighbouring countries. Corres- higher than the press level but certainly than the
expon duties are lighter there. so the discussion level of a mero surface comment or
of our farmers smuggle their agri- two, consisting mostly of abuse and threat on
produce over the border, Oearly, we both sides. The realities which Nigerians and
the co-opcratioD and understand in! of our Ghaoaiaos should mutually be detply concerned
IS-----------;;1iHlB'" UIOON VEIl
with, these days. are far more serious than the Ghana's Ties with East and
immediate ill-will created by the aliens exercise.
serious and regrettable as that was; or than any Central Africa
real or imaginary conflict occasioned by Ghana's ONE of the most successful foreign
alleged support of Biafra. Where were we of the offensives of the Busia administration .baa
press, for one thing, when those two military the projected resumption of diplomatic
gJamour-boys and, at the time, contemporary between Ghana and Zambia.. which bad
heads of state, Brigadier Afrifa and General broken off entirely; and between Ghana and
Gowen. were visiting each other and exchanging East African countries of Uganda and
compliments right in the middle of the civil war, which had become (rozen since the 1966
while their staffs worked on the substantive d'etat.
matters of state between their two countries? Although East and Central African govern-
What did they talk about, and at what level? ments were agitated alike over the military over-
Do we know? How then can we take up a throw of the Nkrumah regime, it was Zambia
fight on these issues now. and on such a low which appeared most vociferous in contempt
pitch? and disrespect for Ghana's military government.
Zambia's equation of Ghana with Nkrumah was
As far as Ghana should be concerned with pitiable enough, though understandable. The
the realities of Nigeria at any rate, the following transport and communication network between
considerations, it would seem to us, are element- Central and Western Africa is so bad that Cen-
al. First. cooperation with Nigeria in most fields
tral Africans have had the misfortune of being
today is essential for Ghana. both for ourselves politically and culturally isolated in many respects.
and in aid of the African, if you like the OA.U., What most Central Africans knew (and still
cause; because. secondly. let's face it, Nigeria know) about West Africa were personalities.
has come through a baptism of fire which bas rather than ideas and processes. It was no wonder
left her not weaker but. potentially at least, that immediately after the coup in Ghana every
immeasurably stronger: politically, militarily and
Ghanaian in that part of the world was constantly
economically. Any reckoning in African terms confronted with the tormenting question: Wby
today which does not take Nigeria's powerful
are Ghanaians so ungrateful? Nkrumah had come
position into top consideration would be plainly to be seen as principally an African leader, rather
illusionary and disastrous. Our Ghanaian pride than a Ghanaian president. In a sense, therefore.
in our own potentialities and abilities would be Nkrumah's lavish spending on his African image
strengthened, not diminished, by an all·fronts 'paid off'.
cooperation with our large and powerful neigh.
One is relieved that Mr. Victor Owusu, the
bour. And it would yield concrete results.
Minister of Foreign Affairs, has been able to
An open·minded. open-hearted visit to Lagos, arrange for the eventual strengthening of relations
Ibadan, Kaduna. their Universities. and even with these countries which had been originally
some smaller communities in that vast country. hostile. Mr. Owusu must have seen, learnt, and
today, would tend to confirm the impression of exploited to Ghana's advantage, the fact that in
vitality, potentiality and "take-offability". We of East and Central Africa. even up to now, the
the Observer, for our part, have started to look best way to win friends is not to condemn Nkru-
as closely as we can into the Nigerian scene. mah, whose personal standing is apparently stiU
For a start we have taken an Observer interview high there, but rather to inform them about the
each off the Vice-Chancellors of Ife and Lagos realities of Ghana's political and economic situa-
Universities, which we shall soon release, follow- tion, and the attempts at national reconstruction.
ed later by other material. We do not claim that
we or the Nigerians have all the answers, or Nixon and Cambodia
hold the key to the solution of all of Africa'. PREsIDENT Nixon's announcement of the
immense problems. We do not even expect that involvement of U.S. ground trops in Cambodia
every Ghanaian would agree with our analysis. has shocked many people, including American.,
AD we plead for i. patience and tolerance with the world over, After all, bas President NixOD
ourselVes, both in A=a and Lagos. The future not committed himself to, and has he not 1CIUaI-
of black Africa is 'till in the balance; more Iy begun to implemen~ a policy of gradual U.s.
troop withdrawals from South Viotnam? Has this
cooperation and less conBict are the sreatest not been sufficient evidence of the sinc<rity dl
needs IJMIII us. his administratiOD in its declared policy to ...
nIB l..E(j()N OBSERVER 19 ., 1970
,tiated. rather than a military. settlement of the State Department "neutrality" and "non-
Vietnam Wu? communism", or "anti-communism", are inter-
LIt such reasoning bas failed to reckon with cbangeable terms.
imperatives of deep U.S. involvement in The extension of the Vietnam war to Cam-
th East Asian affairs, as also with the nuances bodia bas certainly added another dangerous
Nixon's April policy·speech on Vietnam. twist to U.S. involvement in South-East Asian
,lever the fire and brimstone may be emitted affairs. It can only serve to prolong rather than
the Fulbrigbts and the American "doves", end that war quickly. It also strongly promises
U.S. administration-and none more so than to add to Mr. Nixon's domestic problems by
beaded by a person of Mr. Nixoo's convic- intensifying poUtical protest over the war. Nor
s-could afford to go "soft" on the spectre can the extension fail to galvanize the allies of
ommunisrn. the Indo-Chinese communists into such renewed
activity as may dangerously upset world peace.
gain, it is true that the Nixon administration We can only hope that the Nixon administration
gripped in an agonising besitation about its has not. with this latest decision, reached the
nse to Gen. Lon Nol's personal call for help point of no return in this long drawn-out-war in
st the two-pronged Viet-Cong-Communist Indo-China.
t in Cambodia. And yet, in his April policy-
h, President Nixon offered dark hints as to
t form the response, if the decision was Rallies and Demonstrations
tually reached. would take. In that speech MODERN party poUtical raUies were developed.
arply warned Hanoi's leaders of the tremen- in Ghana, by the United Gold Coast Convention
risks they would be running if they so much after its founding in 1946; they were popularised
dangered the security of U.S. forces in South by the Convention Peoples' Party in the years
am "by increased military action in Viet· following the Greal Schism of June/July 1949.
, in Cambodia, or in Laos". In an address It was in the hands of the c.P.P. propaganda
same week to the American Society of Inter- machine that the party rally became "Super-
nal Law, the Secretary of State, Mr. William Monster". In the process of its "refinement" it
ers, revealed that u ••• more than 40.(0) took on the character of demonstrations precisely
h Vietnamese and Viet-Cong troops have tooled for specific ends.
ed and now occupy Cambodia." And tbis, "Solidarity" with various causes, peoples or
id, constituted a violation of the 1954 and persons; displays of the exact opposite of solida-
Geneva accords, which guaranteed the inde- rity-with; the expression of appreciation or of
ence and neutrality of Cambodia. He conti· displeasure; the mounting of campaigns of poli-
"[f states fail to honour their obUgations tical assassination-these became the order of
ations have no recourse but to resort to business. Given time, the "Super-Monster" rally
to protect their sovereignty and territorial developed into a political-tribal orgy. in which
'Jt y" . ideological blood was freely and frequently spilled
early, if these statements had been carefully to appease the gods of the "Ah-rena" and set
ied, President Nixon's favourable response to the stage for the next ritual sacrifice of party
. Lon Not's appeal would not have come as enemies. By 1964 the rally had become a frenzy
ock to many people. And so with such a res- of whoUy irrational emotions out to kill a1l
e Mr. Nixon has extended the Vietnam war uenemies". known or merely suspected: "He
mbodia in order, as he explained, to shorten who is not for us is against us"! ...
war. Its possible extension to Laos cannot The leaders of Ghana's political parties today
ruled out. if onJy because the situation there ought to watch their step. "Super-Monster"
t be equally mucky to the Nixon adminis- rallies are a high poljtical risk. Demonstrations of
support and party loyalty in which judges, clergy-
owever, it would be naive to conclude that men. teachers. and any particular classes are by
U.S. action was wboUy dictated by the offi- thousands of party foUowers pilloried and assa-
reasons given . For the actioD. it would seem. ssinated in effigy and in the intention, for their
also dictated by the U.S. desire to prop up saying or doing things displeasing to the party,
....a k. non-communist and pro-American ro- are a positive danger in our politically new and
e of conservative Cambodians, who only always explosive situation .
tly overthrew the radical and communist- We have seen it all before ; the "telegrams
ted regime of Prince Sihanouk, And for and messages of 'loyalty' from all over the
1970 THE LEGON OBSERVER 21
the country's his ideas on a mythical racial universill~. SOlidarity.
P.O. 80][ 32 o Midlael Chaodler
o Akrokerri
Reviling Pan-Africanism Play Review
r:.'~,,";Th~;e:o Lqoo Observer trickles irregularly into
I so J have only just seen Mr. Obatala's article 'OKONGI'S HARVEST"'
''The Need for Reviving Pan-Arrieanism" (L.O. VO). By K E. Senanu
I",d would like to comment, if it not too late. WHEN. J reviewed the George Wilson/Bertie Opoku
His starting point seems to be that the concept of productIOn of Wale Soyinka's The Lion and the JefteJ
"African" should be extended to include not only nearly three years ago, I complained of th.:: lack of
currently native to the &eographicaJ continent of pu~poseful training for those who might lay the (oun-
but also American Negroes. This is fair d.atlons of a virile popular tileatre in Ghana. At tile
onc can formulatc any number of definition" rISk of S?unding pedantic, I should like to say that tile
an "African" which might either include Of exclude. recent Wllson/Opoku production of Kongl', Hanest con-
Ia,,,,,d;n. to onc's own criteria. such groups as Egypt- finns some of the fears I expressed in 1967 and makrs
Kenyans of Asian origin and Arrieaners. Howc\-cr. ~ore urgent the need for action ;it governmental level.
!.his basically reasonable prcmi$e he adds the asump- In order to rescue the parlous situation Messrs Wilson
t ;"n thai all those who fall within his definition Me l,r and Opoku ha\'e had tv contend with in the production
sufficient cultural similarity to be able to act as :l of Kongi'. Han Cfit.,
I ~,~;~~.;;n:'d this is surely where his argument begins 10 On two nights when I saw tile production, Mr. Wil-
son stepped out, after the final curtain, to make a heart.
Firstly. he ignores tile historical truism that for rending appeal for financial support. One gathers that
many of our human races have been m .1 fhe institutionalized help which should come from the
of nux and migration. and tilat if tile nislorical Arts Council is either denied or simply not available
is lon& enough, tile definition of a member to talent such ~s "':'ilson's. It is a matter of great regret
almost any group of people ma)" be 'lmbiguous_ that such a SItuatIOn lIhoulod be allowed to mar tile
Secondly he Ignores. to the detriment of his arlumenl. work of o~e ~ dedicated as Wilson is to making tile
fact thal the peoples of "ieographica l" Africa theatre thrive In Ghana. To my mind to make a sue.
now widely di\erse socially, physically and lin~uis cess of a playas difficult as Kongi's Hanest. Wilson
I whether or not they were more homogeneous needed to be spared the worry over production cost.
ago-diverse both when one .:onsiders the A Sign of Stnsitivfly
continent and when one looks Within the artiti- For the decisi.on to produce Koogi'. Hanest IS. by
1".,1 national boundaries. It~lf, an indicatIOn of Wilson's continuous growtil as a
He oversimplifies in other ways too. HIS concept of director, as well as a sign of his sensitivity to the in
sharing with African countries of the skills of Afro· ter~'t of .his audience. Kongi's Hanett, as many of the
,~;;~' ;;,~::' is a cenerous one, but is there really such a reviews In the daily pre" have pointed out. mirror'! cut distinction between this and what he terms some of the appalling events which were well known in
the degrading "charity of the white western world"" this country before the February Revolution_ And na.
1".'000 he claims that Africans "at home and abroad" turally this should interest a Ghanaian aUdience.' But
facinl "the common enemies of poverty. bad.. - o~e mu.'it add that Wole Soyinka's play is not merely 'I
r~~'~.~~: and economic exploitaion .. •. But here too. I r~clure of Nkrumah's grotesque attempts to exploit tn-I one has to insiSI that it i~ not ~ simple: tile dillonal uses to prop himself up oJ5 a messianic leader
pn\'erty of, say. a northern Ghanaian farmer and an A~d t~ere.rore muc~ as one sympathises with George
I ~;;~:~~·,~:,": urban Afro-American may have similar Wilson s interpretation of the play. which identifies
JI on their way of life, but the causes and po"i. Kongi almost entirely with Nkrumah. one is disturbed
solutions of their problems are quite unrelated by the fact that this identification has prevented Wilson
la~tly, I thmk the final section of Mr. Obatala's .uti- f((lm giving the necessary emphasis to other aspects of
is TlIther deprcssing-I mean his attempt to dictate the play_
African histonans and artists what theme they For example. to allow th~ Carpenters' Brigade th~
choo5e. This is a major topic which cannot be degree of good feeling they enjoyed in the production
into deeply here. but he should realise that the when preparing the stage for Kongi's arrival at the \
..... hatC\-·er his medium. writes, paints or can-'es han-·cst scene (while reminiscent (If tile enthusiasm of
c(lncerns him. and if. \ay, a Ghanaian play- the Builders' Brigade on such occasions in Nkrumah's
(hoosts to write: about som~ conflict in local day) is to destroy any suggestion of nervousnen on
i and not ab. .... ut a "Pan·African" theme (if such the pan of Kongi's supporters, and to eliminate the
thing can e"(iJt). this has no dlred relation to the hinu of an assanlnation attempt in the offing. BUI the
and value of th~ work he ultimately produces. text requires that this sugestion should be there. to
should a sla\'er of Europeans be a ,ruter. or a make credible Oaodu's and Segi's abortive auempl
. cultuflll hero than a layer of Africans? Tn splte of such lapses. which result from seeing
I hope I ha\'e not liven the impression of being Konal as Nkrumah's image, one ought to concede that
of sympathy ""ith Mr. Ohatala's hope of sreater a great deal of the vitality of th~ production derives
co-npc1'1tion and undentandin~: any I\cti- from this Implicit Identification of the situation
I ~::~':h~w~h~e~;th:,<:';~;~nf~io~,nna,
• The produclioo "u put
whicohr ulneaddesr tthoew aaurdsps ictihoius of a fo
00 al the D"lIn3 Studio
s is surelry- iD Attr3 rrom 'th 10 18th ",pril, and fcom 28tb
But it docs seem a pity that he should ba~ .\pril to be Ma,.
• May 1970 THE LEGON OBSERVER 23
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fDIFOIIAL
IN 'M",IIIl
A NATION'S PROGRESS
WHAT IS GHANA'S search for progress and dignity has been difficult
and agonising. It has been the story of men who are aware
APARTHEID? of the enormity of their problems, but whose impatience
is such that the solution to the problems becomes increas.-
ingly blurred and elusive. Thus the whole nation has become
imprisoned in the constant experimentation with numerous
EDrroRIAL 1 devices. each of which is thought to be the key to solve
A Nation', Proareu I these many problems.
Various mechanisms have been adopted before in this
POLrrlCS 2 regard - these include devaluation of the currency, import
Parliamentary Debate on .. 'Trihe' and licen:::es, exchange control measures, price regulation of
,U ita 'artl of Speech": Extracts essential commodities. selective repatriation of immigr~nts,
Publiul Garneau
and now the projected control and promotion of indigenous
Oburoni MunlU and African IdcoiolY
Modibo T. Ceran business enterprises. While the short and long.term effects
of these measures may be easily predictable, there is no
AFRICA 10 doubt that the result of some of these measures may be
Insid" the Apartheid Kinadom: rather dubious.
Letter to A Friend The Observer believes that, while most Ghanaians are
aware of the pljght of the nation, very few are rcaUy
V EDUCATION 18 prepared to do something about the situation. The first lesson
Education in Rural Areas . in nation. building, we believe, is that the people whose nation
R. K. A. Gardiner it is should be concerned with the issues of development,
and must be prepared to participate in the process. Aid
OBSERVER NOTEBOOK 22
programmes. and hordes of foreign experts, might presum.
Dahomey: Now. PreSidential Troika ably temporarily alleviate the nation's problems; but the
Banda and Apartheid
Ghan3. and the Games permanent solution would have to emanate from the etrorts
·of the natIonals themselves.
LElJERS • 25 Certainly Ghana cannot talk of lack of education in the
The New Ordc:r rudiments of citizenship. But what Ghana can now 'boallt'
Should Nkrumah be Pardoned? of, and for which the nation has become a laughing stocl
The Sallah Case to visJtors. is the hypocrisy of a large mass of the people.
Cecil Rhodes and RhodeSia (2) This h)pocris) has percolated through the entire spectrum
Cape CO.l.St lim\,. Calltle of the nation and is alienating many people from the ideal
OppositiCln Paper values of the society.
Salary Increases
Mills Odoi and P & T Tcchmclan!i Hypocris} turns to be a partner. if not a breeder, of
These Multiple Taxes cynicism. Values of a nation come In ~ questioned. A.nd
No CCMlficales rrom SIC various queries turn II) be raised: 1:'0 Ihose who exhort
hard work set examples by their Own style of work? Do
PLAY REVIE\\ 28 the various apostles of morality actually show that thl!v
The Mikado themselves practise what they preach? While we want alb';"
Jawa AprC'(';ti people to b~ courteous. are ..... e ourselves cour!rous to
others?
'0 One pattern (If our nal10nal life which invokes much
The Judll., . ,,1')' and the Law xhool in qnicism. and whirh cr~tes credibility gaps among various
kontolliaa,krom sections of o~r commUnll). IS the conspicuous consumption
Kwame KOD.topia:u
of our elne t nder the Nkrumah regime one of tbe common
,
22 May 1970 THE LEGON OBSERVER 5
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the supergloss enam .. paint that's easy to kttp
clean and protects woodwork. Avallabilin I range
of dazzling colours.
T£MATEX:
the emulsion paint that makes your hom. come
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,, PAINT DIVISION GHANA INDUSTRIAL HOLDING CORPORATION
BOX 144. TEMA • PHONE 2828_
•
22 May 1970 1liE LEGON OBSERVER 7
, (
•
'o.
•••
but Lufthansa wouldn't I
This happy situation comes about by
our Mickey Mouse Service.
In chIld terms this means a Mickey
Mouse girl to play with. In our terms
It means a chIld-lover - mums each
one of them.
We love the httle darlmgs. Even
when they empty mum's handbag.
paint lipstick on the seat and strip
down to theIr napples.
Also we spend more on games and
toys than any other airline. This helps
t':) keep the httle ones out of your ear.
Mum's car too
Very httle ones use very bIg nappies
So we lay them both out on a special
nappy table to be found in one of our
toilets . Which makes mum feel at
home when there aro no Mickey
Mouses about
As we i.ud. we love loving the
tutle ones, and what you love doing
you do awfully weI!.
Of course I Only the little ones may
play with MIckey Mouses
Lufthansa
1...-_____ -------------=~-.J
n-J , naT
22 May 1970 ,THE LEGON OBSERVE;R;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;~'J
constitute the lumpenproletariat of American
society. This fact does not derive merely from
their status as a minority group. There are STATE FISHING
other minority groups in the American society
which bave fared much better - the Jews.
Irisb, etc. No doubt. the skin and background of CORPORA nON
these latter minority groups made a difference;
but there is also no question that they bad an ethic
which helped them to surmount their initial
constraints better than the black people. Staff Appointment
The blacks on the African mainland are not
Igoing to fare any better with these attributes of SENIOR ADMINISTRATIVE
fellowship. How can we, as a people. ASSISTANT
"a modern African civilisation" by "basing
[oursellv.,," on conviviality, good talk, exchange Applications are invited from
jests, music-making etc.? To my mind these suitably qualified Ghanaians for the
are, at bottom, indices of idleness. post of Senior Administrative Assis-
lack. of social discipline and achievement. tanl.
l'orientati'c, n,. Modernisation. even through the Qualifications: -A good degree
of "tropical technology" - whatever that or equivalent from a recognised Uni-
Im,:ans--needs changes in such attitudes. There is versity plus a minimum of 2 years
experience in general administration
aspect of underdevelopment that has been and public relations work.
as attitudinal underdevelopment
OR a good general education up to
Africans certainly suffer from it. What is School Certificate standard and must
Ineeded is a ~et of attitudes that will foster rapid be a trained journalist with not less
and social development in order to than 5 years experience in the field
the ordinary man to have his fair share of journalism.
the produce of the land. Hopefully, this can
attained within the context of humanism. But He must be conversant with the
organisation and publication of
also means that certain difficult options have periodicals and have a good know-
be made by the leadership. and endured by aU ledge of press relations work
~e people. There is a heavy price all socictJes Dillies : -The successful candidate
lave to pay in order to develop. shan assist the Personnel! Adminis-
An "ideology" which begins to contain such trative Manager in general adminis-
~I!I'''li'''l! as Mr. Oburoni MUDtu assigned it trative duties and be responsible for to
public relation matters of Ihe Corpo-
bis essay may perbaps be beller described by ration.
other than ideology. What concrete
implications can be engendered by an Salary: - NC1860 x 100-
NC2760. Point of entry will depend
based on "African Personality" as con- on qualification and experience.
by Oburoni Muntu, eYeD assuming as
proved the unjqueness of this Personality of Mi- Applications with copies of certi-
ficates and testimonials should be ,
l! it engenders but little poUcy impUca- addressed to the Managing Director,
Ofts. we might assert that it is not true ideology, State Fishing Corporation, P.O. Bo,
merely an idcoloay conceived as mere sym. 211, Tema. and 10 reach him not
to be used es .... tiaIly Co< politically later than 29th May, 1970
/Ie.inlb.. mel. sud! u soliduity-building and
MANAGING DIRECTOR.
lAB LEGON OBSERVER 11
BOEING FAN JET LUXURY SERVICE TO
AND ALL OF EAST AFRICA
Finest In-flight Service' Duly-free shopping on board
INFORMATION and RESERVATIONS
111 Cocoa House, P. O. Boa 3600. Tel. 11356. Accn.
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AI"Rr.I"NES
22 May 1970 TIlE LEGON OBSERVER 13
Starting in business or Industry?
Already established and expanding?
awaits
you at
Barclays
Bank
,.
MR. EMMANUEL N. NORTEY Is Ih~ Manager of the Kimberley Avenue bflnch of Barclays Bank,ln Accra. In Ih.
course 0{1I;$ caTH' with Barclays, extending over (/(leen years, he has worked in many capacities
.nd In nIne different btanches oflhe bank. Mr. Nortey has three timet been to the United Kingdom on training
Coursts and holds tilt! 'nstltute of Bankers Associate Diploma which he gained In '963 with distinctfon In
the uw Relating to Banlflng. He w.rs {ormetly Manager of Knutsford AI'enull', Accra, branch,
Wh,n M,. Nortey tn/comu customers Into his office they can be sur. that they will gel the soundest blnklng advice,
IHcbd by his wide experience, ilnd al/ the url/ic.s that s..rclays can offer.
'Whether your business is large or small, the comprehensive facilities ot Barclay. are at
your diaposal. With its progressive outlook ... its wide
experience of banking in Ghana ... its connectiona with the City ot .london
and the w'&ole world ... ita network of more than 60 branches throughout Ghana, Barelaya
can aeeiat you in 80 many ways. And always in the spirit ot help1\U. service.
fJURJU!:N'r ACCOUNTS, DEPOSIT ACCOUNTS, BATINGS ACCOUNTS, STANDING ORDElIB, l'OR&IGN
D.:OllANGE. BlLL8 AND DOOUMENTARY OREDIT8, KONEY 'l'RA.N8FERS, TRA.V ELLERs' OB 'QUES.
auBIN1,:.8 S ADVICE, STA.TU8 REPORTS, INVESTJaNT ADVIOB, INSt1&A.NOE A...B.R..A.l'fOBM rra. ~
I LAYS BANK At the of Ghana's tra •
22 May 1970 TIIE LEGON OBSERVER 15
moment's hesitation.
I doubt whether any of you even begin to
realise what a danger South Africa presents to
the continent. We are accustomed to forming
our views about apartheid mainly in terms of our
sense of solidarity with feUow-Africans under its
heel. but we do Dot reaUy think of it as affecting
us in any other way; we suppose that we can get makes Signal
on with our own affairs in our own way, merely
boycotting the South African regime. But to think so from
like this is to live in an utter fool's paradise.
A successful industrial system such as one can
see staring one in the face in Johannesburg is
bouod to expand. economicaUy or politically or
both, wherever there is a vaccum adjoining it-
and the whole of the rest of the continent is
such a vaccum. in comparative economic terms.
This is Dot just a premonition : the process is
already starting.
That evening. aU these thoughts running through
my head, I saw that one of the European wait-
resses in the dinning-room, a pert, sDub-nosed
girl. was talking to the African head~waiter,
smiling up at bim in a sHghtJy Oirtatious fashion,
and I thought, "Wen, there is stiJl some human
communication left bere", But when she came
to ask for my order I knew from ber accent tbat
sbe was French, and thus as much a stranger
to this appalling country as I was. Maybe she
too had wished to break the speU a little. IT's
It is GrOWing, Growing ...
In the morning the European clerks at the air
terminal had difficulty in mUltiplying 21 by 30 ,
wben tbey wanted to work out my excess baggage IN mE RED •
charge. I reflected that if enough of the Europeans Thl. Vlhli Element Glv. . You
were as stupid as these men and as incompetent Strong HealthyClean White Teeth
as the hostesses. there might be some hope yet Pure Fres" Breath
for Africa. But in the aircraft. looking back over Healthy Gums
the great pall of smoke pouring from the factory A Germ·free Mouth
chimneys right aaoss the Witwatersrand, and •
thinking that this repiesented probably no more C!! ,
than a quarter of all South Africa's industrial ~ YoUR TtET1I SIGNAL
might, I knew again that we were aU in the most
terrible danger.
Kwame, you must be aware that industrial
civilization is far and away the most powerful •
and potentially destructive of all man's achieve- ... _ C •
ments. As we found in Europe three or four •
decades ago, an industriaJ society which takes a . ~,
malignant form can unleasb in a few shon years
all that destructive power. Six million were brutal- ..
ly done to death then. and perhaps six times l •
six million others died or were aippled for life
before Nazi Germany was destroyed. Of course,
in global terms South Africa is quite a puny
iDdustrial power; but it is growiog. and growing
CENTRE FOR CIVIC ':."
OR invited rrom suitablY q1I8Ii- WHICH
ror !be rollowina pool» ill tile TENDS TO
Education :- TIAL
A. REGIONAl. ORGANISEIl (Wen ,', SectioD) 8d7'» ==
rer Upper Regioo. .
~:- Candidat. . must have:-
(a) A good educational background up to
School Certificate or Teder's Certificate _ .. CAndid., I , m l:,.
'A' or its equi. .....t plus .t leut five (5)
yean' post quolificatioo experience in (a) Hove 1 zoocr S ,,1
organisatiOD work, preferably at Regioua1 &fOund, at J st up to
or Natioual kveI. Leoving Certi&cate
(b) Should be or. pI ..u nt disposition, havc eouotiaS or
initiative, drm:, integrity and high seD" in a Go.ern- It or ...i -ill
or rCIpOnsibility. sation.
(e) Have ability to interest Urban Ate:- Not more than 40 yean. IS weU IS
Rural communities in their civic rights "-Ivy:- Range 24, ~NfZ660 NfI!l56;
and responsibilities. NjZ792-N!Z936_
(d) Have good knowledge or Frarra and at Dello.:- Will be responsible ror A:~:~~
. leut one other dialect spoken in !be Vote Ledgers. Bank_
Region. paymcots iD Regiooal (I!Ik II
Ap:_ Not more tbln 4S years. D. RFSEARCH OFnCU
_:- CandidolCl mUII:-
Slh'7:- Range 48, Sl-NIZI,668 NIZI,9S6;
N!Z2,04O-N!Z2,388.· (a) Be Graduates in !he SocioI "'!cill'r r-have a post-sradUlte
DliUes:- To be concerned with all levels of orga- the Social Sci.DC "
nisation in the RegioD, Urban and Rural, (b) Have knowledze in OM «
and with all kinds or audiences and naian langu.F'. t'
groups. - (e) Have experience ill Rei reb.
(a) To be in constant touch with all Sections I. Research into the matel '.
of the Community in the Region and to by tbe Centre ror !be edumdolr
liaise with the Chiers and people in rural people;
and urban areas, for the formation of 2. Writina pampblets OD IrII
discussion groups, i.e. Civic Clubs, results;
(b) To be responsible ror arranging speakers 3.
for Seminars, Courses, Lectures and for
inviting people to serve aD the panel of
speakers for ~the Region. 4.
&. DISTRICT ORGANISERS (For all RegiODs)
.... :- Candidates must:-
(a) Have a good general educational back-
Jl'ouod preferably up to School Certificate
or Teachers Certificate lA' or ita equi-
valent plus three (3) years' post quali-
fication practical experience in orpni- (a)
sational work, preferably at District level.
(b) Have good knowledge or at least two (b)
dialects spoken in the RegiOD to which
be will be pooled.
AS' :- Not more tbln «l yeara
D P1n:- Will be res~nsible ror orpnisiDs !be
Centre's activities in the District. Thai
iDdude arrangements ror meetinp, sym-
posia, lectures, debates, crouP c»-
couiODS, and !be givins or I.lks reIotld to
!he Civic Education propamme-
NOTE:- A
AND
DIAIJ!CT
21 May 19'10 17
English paper of the General Certificate Age:· Not more than 35 years.
of Education or must have passed the
Qualifying English Examination con· Salary:- Range 24, 29-NlZ660--NlZ756:
ducted by the West African Examina- NlZ792-NlZ936.
tions Council; and must be able to type I. TYPIST GRADE I
at the rate of 50 words a minute for (For Regional Offices and Headquarters)
JO minutes, take shorthand at the rate
of 100 words a minute for 5 minutes and Qualifications:- . . .
possess a certificate issued by the Prin- Candidates must have held this pOSItion
cipal, Government Secretarial School for a period not less tban 2 years with
to that effect. Government or reputable Commercial
or Industrial Organisation. Must be
b) must have intiative, integrity and a able to type at the rate of 40 wor~s per
high sense of responsibility. minute and must possess the Certlfi~te
:- General secretarial duties of a high grade, issued by the Government Secretarial
taking minutes at Board Meetings, pre- School to that effect.
paring minutes and memoranda for Duties:- The successful candidate will be required
the Executive Director and General to attend to all typing and secretarial
Administrator as required, and keeping duties in the Regional Office(s),
confidential reports and such related
matters that may be assigned from time Age:- Not more than 28 years.
to time. Salary: Range 15, 2()...NlZ462-NlZ54O; NlZ564
Not more than 35 years. - NlZ660
Range 40, 45, SO-NlZl,236--NlZI,428 J. CLERICAL OmCER
-NlZI ,488-NlZ I, 74O-NlZ2, 124. (For Regional Offices and Headquarters)
Qualifications: Candidates must have:-
GRADE I (a) A good educational background pre~e
lca~io",:- Applicants must:- rably up to School Certificate or Its
equivalent.
have passed at the Ordinary Level in the
nr the General Certificate (b) Must have initiative, integrity and high •• • -- ..... r
. the sense of responsibility . -~~-i
Duties: General clerical and administrative du-
"., " .. ~ rs.
d~ ....... _ .
minutes, take shorthana al ...... __
100 words a minute for 5 minutes and ft.. ..._
possess a certificate issued by the Prin- Qualifications: Candidates !)IIV .... _.
cipal. Government Secretarial School
to that effect. (a) have Middle School Leaving Certificate
must have initiative, integrity and high or School Certificate
sense of responsibility. (b) have had at least (5) five years
Store-keeping experience either in the
General secretarial work, taking minutes Civil Service or a Corporation.
at meetings, typing confidential minutes Duties: Receiving and issuing of stores, purcba-
and reports, and per fa r m anee of
other related duties. Sing and payment of bills. Keeping store
Not more than 30 years. records e.g. Ledgers, Stores Issue Vou-chers, Invoices, Stores Receipt Vouchers.
Range 28, 33, 35, 4O-NlZ756--NlZ900; Tally Cards etc.
NlZ936--NlZ I ,092 ;-NlZ I ,OO8-NlZl, 188; Age: Not more than 40 years.
NlZl ,236--NlZI ,428. Salary: Range 45, SO-NlZl,488-NlZl,74O;
NlZl,812-NjZ2,124.
OmCER METHOD OF APPLICATION:
(For Regional Offices and Headquarters)
Applications (five copies) giving a brief curri~
Candidates must have:- culum vitae with copies-NOT ORIGINAlS-of
A good educational background pre- certificates and testimonials and names and addre-
ferably up to School Certificate or its sses of three referees should be addressed to the
cquivalent~ a pass in G.C.E. 'A' level will Executi"'e Director, Centre for Civic Education,
be an advantage. P.O. Bo," M.l03, Accra, not later than 27th May,
1970. Civil Sen/ants, employees of statu lOry Boards
Must have initiative. integrity and high and Corporations should apply through their
sense of responsibility. Clerical/Exec:u. Heads of Departments. Applicants under bond
dve OfIiccr for at least S years. are ineligible.
General administrative and executive NOTE: Those for B,C,H,I & J must indicate in
duties includinl the supervision of junior
st.ft', which Regions or District Offices tbey
wish to work.
22 Jofay 1970 THE LEGON OBSERVER 19
-f. .
•
lllANew
You can
here and collect
it almost
in Europe
I. BRISCOE (6H ) LIMITED
L----_Ar.r.!D A _ ." , ~ __
form • DaIioDaJ CCOIIomy. for a spirit of independence and self·m;,_ and
lilt clevelopilll countries wilh PB' • willinsn ... to take risks. A syotem wbicb abel·
actiWi UEE' caDDot be described as na· len all indiscriminately can only parantec equality
""en tbough aU the progres- in poverty.
are coataiDed. in one natioo·state. The It is necessary to question our present arrange-
., the national market or the national ceo- ments for the allocation of resources. On what age-
ill a very important ractor in economic: deve- crouP should limited resources be spent? It migbt
be argued that concentration on vocational and
that the need to develop a national OD.the-job training for adults might yield more
is ecceptcd. tben one role of education immediate economic returns than investment
be to equip the growing generation with new in primary schools. Some authorities have sUI-
aDd • new outlook. Much is made ICStcd postponing the compulsory entry of child·
.... conservation of the peasant. but I think rcn into the first grade to about the agc of 8 or 9
il a danger of overplaying 'his aspect of so that at the terminal stage of primary school
_.t psychology. A poor peasant can iII·afford IS or 16-school-leavers would be sufficiently
lake risks, but if care is taken to ensure tbat mature to utilize their pre-vocational training in
methods and techniques produce positive productive work. Indeed, the present systems
!be pcasant will accept them and put them which concentrate on spreading primary education
practice. People can and do change. if given are partly responsible for the wholesale unemploy-
riJbt incentives. and a programme of job ment among school-Ieavers.
must be matched by the generation of The psychological damage which this does is
jobs. not fully appreciated. Children today do not
Utilitarian Aspects speak of 'passing' the Standard 7 examination or
of having 'obtained the secondary school-leaving
This attitude to the development (('lIe of educa- Certificate.' Rather. they say they have 'failed the
emphasizes the utilitarian aspecls and. in Common Entrance' or failed to secure admission
economic circumstances of Africa today. this to the UrHversity,' 8y this process we are in fact
_. bad thing. We have to improve the pro- rearing a nation of failures, since only a minority
of capital and consumer goods and our of primary school-Ieavers enter secondary schools
llarialwelfare depends upon how well we do this. and a tinier minority still gain admission to the
cannot help being utilitarian in our outlook. University. For economic and psychological rea-
we can only exchange goods and services that sons, we have to think in terms of investment in
economic value, and this is precisely what an educational complex.
transfonnation of subsistence economics to
economies means. This is not to say that A Matter of Emphasis
MSthclic, moral. cultural and religious values Is there such a thing as rural education? The
education are to be neglected. Some people only reasonable answer to this question is that it
the view that practical vocational training is is a matter of emphasis.- Educational services pro-
of any cultural value. Of this, I am not vided in rural areas should be comprehensive in
but I am sure of the fact that Africa's scope, comprising programmes from primary
will be served by men whose minds school levels to participation in communal activi-
pup the laws of nature and whose hands tie5; such as women's institutes, farmers' c1abs
refashion its raw materials to minister to and e"tension work.. It should also provide oppor-
ends. tunities for attending rurally located high-level
iI important tbat education should be viewed institutions engaged in teaching and research in
continuous. lifo-long process, embracing the specific rural problems. This implies that careful
.. weU IS the-.!ult popuJation. A psycholo· BUcnlion '" ill be paid to curricula and syllabulCs.
Jqa11e must be created to male it Df'CCSsary Nowhere in tbe current educational systems in
ror all members of the commuDity developing countries is there as much attention
clplte ill the deYclopmcnt effort. I am oot paid to food production, farm management. mar-
that .... old customs and traditions keiinl and cooperati. ... science and its application.
abandoued or swept away; but there is mechanical skills. etc, as is done in more pros-
need for • reappraisal of the codes pc.ous and industriaUy advanced countries. Too
"'::~ha" OOIIditioned and still ma insistence cannot be placed on the nced for
AI mUlt be done tbI l!andards of tadUns and !camillI in rural
_ which is uni- AI pt to be .. aood u those which obtain in the
But th .... is IlOOII It I ..... jnetitutioaL
I May 1970 TIIE LEGON OBSERVER 23
PIONEER TOBACCO COMPANY LTD .
reqUl• re an
ACCOUNTANT
•
to join their Management Staff
Applications are invited from Ghanaians under the age of
32 who have passed the final examination of the Institute
of Cost and Works Accountants or the Associatio\1 of Cer-
tified and Corporale Accountants, and who have had 2-3
years experience in a Commercial or Industrial concern.
Preference will be given to those who have held a Manage-
ment position and can show a record of leadership and
initiative.
Write, giving full particulars of age, education and expe-
rience to,
Personnel Manager,
Pioneer Tobacco Company Ltd.,
P.O. Box 521l,
Accra.
Applications from Ghanaians resident in the United
Kingdom will be welcome.
< PTe) A MEMBER OF THE B.A.T. GROUP e
May 19'10 TIlE LEGON OBSERVER 25
~~~-------------
Transitional Provisions of the Constitution. Thil it bu
~ettel"S done, and then related it to Sallah', position.
----- Is it being SUUested that our Supreme Court has deli-
berately misinterpreted the Constitution just to ...t iliy
11te New Ot Jar the wbirm of a judge? if this was so, then God help
Ill-The letter written by OwuJU Yaw in the L •• Ghana!
l fa' (V/IO) under the above caption is provoca- Out Constitutional lawyers must urgently debate the
~e CllOUab to require a rejoinder. Owusu Vaw qucs.
issue and tell us whether the Constitution hal been
JnJ the lovemment', senJe of responsibihty for the
clfare of Ghanaians because. it has correctly or wrongly interpreted so that the public can dismissed over SOO
judge the judles: that is true democracy at ... ork. The
orkers, leavina their families to suffer.
government's reaction to the court'. decision is ""hat one
I wonder if Owusu Vaw wanted the lovemment to would naturally expect under the circumstances, but
lain tbese workers, wbom it no longer wished to should we allow it to cloud our perspective on th.
rk with. That is, to him. the economic well-being Constitution and the Law?
the whole nation should be sacrificed for the P.O. Bos 1840 Owu. . Vaw
e6t of only a handful of workers and their families. A..,.
at the New Order tells us is that everybody should
Iize bis responsibilities to the whole nation and help Cedi Rhodes aad Rbodcria
uplift the Iivina standards of the people through
work. SIR-Mr. C. C. K. Dzakpasu's piece under the title,
"Orilins of the Rhodesian Crisis", (L.O.V/9) calls for
In the event of the failure of the nation, people such a dire<:t reply. Being an African myself, J consider that
Qwusu Yaw would be the first to orcanise lectures and article as about the greatest insult I bave had to endure.
us "wbat wcnt wron, in Ghana" and blame every- in a long lime, from someone who is apparently an
.g. on the Busia administration. .T ...e.. African (by name) . Samuel Akwaboah In his analysis of the origin of the Rhodesian Crisis,
Mr. Dzakpasu might only be presenting what be consi-
ders to be unalloyed facts. But one cannot fail to
see. halfway through his article. that he is trying to
Should Nkramah be Pardooed1
present a case for domination of white over black in
-Mr. Kofi Dake's letter on Nkrumah's role in Rhodesia. In going over the role of Cecil Rhodes and
ory (L.O. VI8) must have given Gbanaians some the early settlen, he gives it a rilhteous image which
I'll to think about. The letter was factual and thought is most objectiona.ble. He calls Cecil Rhodes an empire
voking. builder, which is to Sly he was a coloniser and an im·
perialist. So, any suggestion of philanthropy is hopelessly
mmediately after the coup. everything which bore out of place. Those settlers who followed Rhodes and
name of Nbumah was liven a new name: Statues "helped in tapping this immense wealth in minerals"
Nkrumah were demolished and their pieces given did not come for the love of Lobengula. Their "treaties
workers-on as souvenin_ All this was proper immc- of trade and protection" turned out to be treaties for
tely after the coup, and ... e were all too happy reo theft and subjugation. ThCK are also facts'
ing oYer our newly won freedom_
It is my belief that if Cecil Rhodes wu half as bonest
r. Dake suuests that "at least a cursory remark 115 Mr. Dukpasu implies, there would be no Rhodesian
ut wbat little role he (Nkrumah) played", be made crisis today.
radio broadcasts on the 6th March and I suppose Mr. Oukpasu must be very satisfied with the wonder-
the 1st of July too? t shall, howC\o"er, go a little fur- ful .:array of facts and opinions he bas presented. But I
r in demanding somethinl more. wonder how many Africans shall be impressed by his
presentation!
'e could at least take the huae NCIOO,OOO ransom
A ..... fte Minta
his head. The Busia lovemment has shown that it
be objective and realistic - .:as shown by the 10-
ent', stand on South Africa. Another show of il5
ectivlty would be to recolnise the place of Nkmmab SIR-I read Mr. Ozakpasu's article on Rhodesia
Ghana's history and pardon him. (L.O. V /9) with much dismay. His call ror a reali.tic
~"'Dwt!IIltb Han E. G. AIID·Applab appraisal. based on distorted history, clearly portray,
his ignorance of what the slruule is aU about. And
it is betrayal or faith to insist that Rhodesia is here
to stay. Whose .ide is he on? He not ani), tried to
confuse the public. but he abo waged a psychological
warfare on behalf of Africa's detractors.
-Tbe point at issue in this case is a fundamental He can be assured that the concern is not over the
'tutionlll question that calls for very Knous debate. .encalogy of the rape or Matebeleland. or wbere tbe
it is indc:cd a pity that the arauments have ta.,ed rapists belonl_ At issue bere Is the dilnity of man.
to around personalities than around the conJ. and the attempt is to make Africa a home for AfricanJ,
. QR. What the SuPretN Court was required to do. not an asylum fOf' tile deranled.
i' ls CIIIpmtiend by the Co, nstitution to do, wa! • 'A. fUrther blurance ror Mr. Ozakpuu. wbich .ould
live us an interpretation of Section 9( I) of the ,et' hi; mm4 at -.e. i. that there is no effort to deny
12 May (970 tHE LEGON OBSERVER 27
UNIVERSITY OF GHANA
REGISTRAR'S OFFICE
Admission to Master's Degree and
Postgrad uate Diploma Courses: 1970
Persons who wish to be considered for admission to a Master's Degree or Post-
graduate Diploma course in the Univenity of Ghana in October. 1970 are invited to
write for application forms which should be completed and returned not later than
30th June, 1970.
Courses in the foUowing subjects are available:
I M.A. (may be taken in any of the foDowing subjects) :
African Archaeology
African Studies
Englisb Language
EngUsh Literature
Geograpby
History
Linguistics
Sociology
Theology
2. M.sC. (ECONOMICS)
3. M.SC. (may be taken in any of the foDowing subjects)
Botany
Chemistry
Geology
l'hysics
Statistics
Zoology
4 M.SC. (AGRICULTURE) (may be taken 10 any of the foDowing .ub-
jects with special reference to tropical conditions):
Agricultural Economics
Agricultural Engineering
Animal Science
Crop Science
Soil Science.
S POST·GRADUATE DIPWMA (may be taken 10 any at the foUowing
Applied Statistics
Licentiate in Theology
Social Administration
Sociology
Limnology, Oceanography and Fisheries Biology.
A candidate seeking admission to any of the above courses must have obtained
a good first degree in an appropriate field of study in an approved University and must
have satisfied any additional qualifications required for admission to the course in t~e
subject of his choice. . I
Admission to the course leading to a particular degree or diploma will depelld on
tho availability. of. teaching and other facilities for the candidate', special field of study
The durabon of the MA. and M.Sc (FconoIDlCS) Degree. courses is two yean.
The M.Sc. ~ec ~urse 1ft ~e Facukll.i of ~eo.ce and Agnculture may be of one
CIt two years duration dependmg on the qualiflC3bons of the candidate.
l A post-graduate Drploma. coone is normally of onc year's duration.
Lett. ... for application forms, should be addressed to tho S.nior Assistant IlL.
sisITar (AaJdmlic), Univmlry of Ghana, P.O. 80x 25, ugon.
I May 1970 THE LEGON OBSERVER 31
Expert Service Is Our Business!
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____T~ ~.~h(lnC b4~14~7._ bJ5~4_ fI',\2!.) .llld ___T deph ne OI':~48 ::!J ......n d._ -I._ _
I
vel'
'01, V No, 12 5·18 June 1970 Price 15np
EIITIIIAL
, THIS lllUE
CHIEFTAINCY ON TRIAL
ITUMFUO AND THIS~EEK Ghanaians have been mourning the death of
THE FUTURE OF Nana Osei Agyeman Prempeh 11. which sad event was oUi· cially 191nounced the week before. Undoubtedly, the late
Prempeh. who died at the ripe age of 78. was L'le incumbent
CHIEFTAINCY of one of the most illustrious of traditional positions. not
only in Ghana but throughout black Africa.
Although historically the concerns of the occupant of the
1 Golden Stool have tended to be focused more on reinforcing
and consolidating the gains and the strength of the Ashanti
2 nation, the late Otumfuo had the mixed fortune of living at
Role of the President Under the cross roads of two historical epochs. It is nO( easy to live
, through thrt.:e generations. Like any other chief in tribal-
orientated social structures, the Otumfuo's first duty was
AFFAIRS naturally to his tribal people. Unlike his predecessors, how-
African in Latln·Am~nca ever, he wa~ also caught in the ",hirlwind of nation build-
E. Ofon-Akyea. ing. Even durmg thl! trying da~~ of the sece~sionist National
8 Liberation Moveml.!nt. !.he Otumfuo never refu;')ed to combine
Nana Osel A,),cman his tribal leadership with his G/llllluiwlIles.L The shrewd-
Prcmp.:h II. Ashantihene. 11192-1970:
The End of a "!'pnsltlon1 ness and tact ",ith which he conceived - and reacted to-
)';"""al1ll! Athm his dual orientations of gOl,erning his tribe and serving the
1'0TEBOOK 10 nation may be regarded as the most enduring and at the
Ambassadon same time chequered tribute that can be paid him,
Salesman of E~il
The Observer venture~ to ' predict that, with the passmg
12 away of the Asantehene. a new dim..:mion in our con~ep
Teachcn' Uniforms tion of chieftaincy will certainly be experienced in Ghana
J_ E. Opoku The Asantehene was, of course, nOt the only chief in the
country; nor, indeed, could one regard him as the most typi-
Bea\'cr Aircraft Accident " cal representative of the 'medievalists' , His variou~ pronoun-
and African Hislory (2) cements on education and on social welfare, aud his acute
Ghana's MonumcnlJ
and Tribalism. knowledge of \\orld events ",bich he revealed to those who
I Problems. came in contact with him, are well remembered. But dellly
E"-J"IICns and Local Talents the constitutional barometer of the future of chieftaincy
and the Nation tended to revolve around very few chiefs in Ghana - with
of Teachers
Unlfomu the Asanteheoe as one of the most prominent.
Fees in Socu.r For instance. it is reported that the {)tumfuo died in
16 Christ, and had the last sacraments administered to I-.im.
Joe Apalahala
Kwame Ademoawa whic-h tells much about the wind of change in the notions of
chiefdom. The glare of pUblicity surrounding hiS death-
being Iajd in state at his Manhyia palace, and at the St.
SUPPLEMENT Cyprian's Anglican Church for all to sec; the mild temper
With which the palace executioners ha"e JiCrformed their
Vicc-Chan~lIor S. O. Blohaku
of Unlvenlty of l.a,o. otherwise excruciating functions: these and other circum-
Interviewed by stances indicate not only the increasing secularization of
K_ A. B. lonu~rtey the office of the chief. but also the fact that men·s concep-
tions of traditional statuses and rotes have under-l0D.e drastic
•
THE LEOON OBSERVER 3
"
,"
, c
ur
ro er
•
a aiDS
FIRE.' -
,
Have you ever considered the possibility that your
house which took 6 months to build , 10 . 15 years to
pay for and 5 years to furnish could be destroyed by
fire within minutes?
Insure your house and property with State Insurance
Corporation NOW and be assured of prompt replace.
ment in event of fire catastrophe.
EST * 1962
STATE INSURANCE
CORPORATION
POBOX 2363. ACCRA TEl 64619' 21133 YOUR KEY TO SECURITY
KUMASI . TAKORADI . TAMALE · TEMA • KOFORtDUA . HO
June 1970 THE LEGON OBSERVER 5
in accordance with the advice of the
Council. In such cases the President International
to appoint the person chosen by the Prime
or the judicial Council. as the case AN AFRICAN IN LATIN-AMERICA
be. These cases also show tbat in those By E. Ofori-Akyea
which the President has only to consult the
ro,unc of State, the final decision lie;; with him. MOST people generally know Latin America
because of such topics as the unstable political
The words "consultation", "advice" and situations, coups d'etat. Cuba, or Che Guevara.
were chosen deliberately. The Any enquirer on Latin America is most unlikely
Commission and the Constituent to be told that the continent is bristling wi th
obviously thought it would be dan- political activity; that Argentina. for example.
to entrust certain appointments to politi- produces a considerable amount of wine and
They obviously believed that all those fine cattle; that Brazil comprises almost half the total
about free eJections, freedom of expression, land area of the continent and is a potential world
the Rule of Law, would be meaningless if power; or that the United States is seen as an
entrusted with the direct responsibility of imperialist power in Latin America.
and safeguarding them were nothing
Latin America is so vast that it may not make
than the puppets of politicians. It is only
much sense 10 talk of the whole continent. It
such public officers arc appointed by impar-
would be like trying to talk about the whole of
non-partisan bodies that we can reall}' be <jure
Africa !
l~:~' they are independent and that the best persons
[c appointed. In the absence of such a guarantee, What is attempted in this essay is to provide
may not be enough that those public officers some observations which apply specifically to
re niov security of tenure of office. Uruguay. Argentina and Brazil. but which to a
lesser or greater extent applies to the whole
The Necessary Safeguards continent.
Since the return to civilian rule we have focused Great Mobility
all our attention on the powers of the Prime
Minister and his Cabinet. It is right that we should In certain significant ways Latin America is
pay such attention to the performance of the Prime more homogeneous than Africa. For one thing.
Minister and bis ministers. They have the the Spanish invasion was very thorough, so the
power; it is upon them that much of our economic culture is Latin with a South American flavour.
and social well-being depends. But we should not This means that Spanish as a language has spr~ad
the role that tbe President has been assigned throughout the continent. With the exception
. the preservation and defence of our democracy. of Brazil where its population of about
1t is a most crucial role. It is time we began to 90 million people speak nothing but Portuguese,
study how the Presidency operates. Guyana, and Haiti, the rest of the continent is
Spanish speaking.
Upon the first holders of the President's Office This makes (or a certain mobility to be
lies the responsibility of ensuring that the role. possible on the continent. Perhaps the most
the power and authority assigned to the President famous example is to say that Che Guevara was
under the Constitution are in no way diminished. born and educated in Rosanio, Buenos Aires.
If they allow a convention to get established that but he moved out of Argentina and applied his
all Presidential powers should be exercised in ac- ~pcrience to the Cuban situation and helped
In the Cuban revolution. Besides it is common
cordance with the advice of the Cabinet, if they ~o find ~ileans working in Uruguay, Bolivians
aHow the Presidency to become a purely ceremo- In Argentma, Paraguayans in Peru. and so on.
nial office. they would be creating a situation The closeness of Spanish to Portuguese makes
wbJch some unscrupulous politicians at some ~he com_munication barrier very insignificant
mdeed. in fact, Spanish and Portuguese are
(uture date would use to establish, if not naked mutually intelligible.
dictatorship, at least a perverted and hollow form
of democracy. The Spanish "Conquerors" made sure to
eliminate the Indians from the centre of the
IlD1e 1970 THE LEGON OBSERVER 7
,
•
The easiest way to get
a Volkswagen in Europe
is to order it here
I
Just tell us when you want to pick Take your pock. the BeeUe. the
up your new VW and we'll have one Fastback or tbe sporty Karmann Ghia
waiting tor you. and we'll band Ie the whole thing from
We bandle everything; purchase stan to finish.
lDsurance. registration, licensing and You might wish to order your VW
delivery. It costs no extra to order your for delivery here, we're the people to •
car in Ghana-and it', easier! We can
o see about that too .
arrange for delivery in 15 couDtries and
40 cities. •
•
R.T. BRISCOE (GHANA) LIMITED
P.O. BOX 1635. P.O. BOX 1971. P.O. BOX 223.
ACCRA. I KUMASI. I TAKORADI .
• •
•
5 lune 1970 THE LEGaN OBSERVER 9
regime and regarded as traitors. Secondly. cob is questionable whether the grant of such powers
nial administrations initially misunderstood the by the colonial authorities did the chiefs any
clwacter of indigenous thiefships. believing them good. The bitterness evinced by many subjects
to be autocratic institutions when in fact govern- towards their chiefs grew out of comparisons
ment by cbiefs was government by consensus. of judicial processes in the Magistrate's Courts
with those in the Native Courts. And it did not
When, therefore. it became a practice of the
help matters that appeals lay from the Jatter courts
colonial authorities to transmit peremptory orders
to the Magistrate's Courts. It was an invitation
through the chiefs to their people. the chief was
to potentially disobedient subjects to defy tho
put into a quandary: be becamo an autocrat
chiefs.
to his people and deserved to be destooled if he
carried out these orders: but he did not, the Besides colonialism. the 'larger' nationalism if
of the modern state. with its different orgaDlS&~
colonial authorities considered him disloyal to
the British Crown and destooled him simply by tional requirements. has also left its mark on
by the institution of chiefship. Since 1946, when. withholding recognition a Gazette Notice. The
spate of destoolments in Asbanti and elsewhere the late Otumfuo. to his credit. agreed to a
on the Gold Coast in the first phase of colonial legislative merger of the Gold Coast Colony
with Ashanti. the latter has ceased to be •
administration, 1896- 1935, was evidence of the
predicament into ..... bich the requirements of colo- separate entity. which means that in the period
nial administration and the exigencies of Ptu 1946-1951 colonial officials wielded legislative
had put the chief. authority over the Ashantihene and his subjectl. Britannica
Party Politics
Restoring the Union
But the real problem for the Ashantihene and
Asbanti provided special difficulties for the the chiefs came with tbe introduction of party
British. Prempch I was in exile from 1896 to politics and universal adult suffrage. When a
1924. On the basis of the betief that a divided people are supposed to independently exercise
people were easier to rule. the colonial author· their will on public matters through secret vat·
ities maintained the fiction that Prempeh I had ing. how can a chief. however elevated. claim
never been properly enstooled in 1888. and that to speak. for his subjects? How. for example.
he was not Ashantihene but Kumasihene. in could the National Liberation Movement, by
which presumed capacity he was allowed to virtue of the support of the Ashantihene. claim
return to Kumasi in 1924. Yet the British knew to speak for the Ashantis if the Ashantis bad voted
that the people of Ashanti regarded Prempeh I massively for the Convention People's Party?
as Ashantibene; that so Jong as the Golden The situation was further complicated by the
Stool remained. so long would Ashantihenes re· (act that Ashanti could not be considered in
main in the hearts of all Ashanti; and that it did isolation but 3S part of a new entity. Ghana.
not matter whether the occupant was on the so that its will could only be considered in
moon. or in the SeycheUes Islands. relation to the will of Ghana as a whole. It
would appear that in the political crisis of the
The patient patriotism of the Ashanti was fifties. the late Otumfuo did not see very clearly
rewarded in 1935 when the late Otum[uo. who the implications of the merger ot Ashanti with
had succeeded hI> uncle Prempeh 1 in 1931. the Colony in 1946. and also of the introduction
prevailed upon the colonial authorities to restore of the party system and of universal adult suffrage.
the Asbanti Confederacy in 1935. This was a It became clear after the loss of the battle
major achievement of Prcmpeh lI. Ashanti was for federation that the tide to modernity could
no longer the Ashanti of the nineteenth century, nOl be resisted. and it is a sign of his capacity
but it meant a good deal that her people were for flexibility that the late Otumruo settled his
politically re-united; the vigour of Ashanti cul~ account with lhe Nkrumah regime and peace.
ture can only be maintained through the coHee· ably assumed the role that the steady march
tive ritual penOI mancC$ of which the Ashanti· of time had left the rulers of Ashanti among
bene is the centre.
lesser chiefs in Ghana: that of influential coun·
The restoration was no mere window dressing. seDors by virtue of their positions as the per·
Until the abolition of the Native Authority sonal symbols of the historic and cultural d;ver~
Courts in the nineteen~fifties. the Asanteman sities in the unity of Ghana. That role Nan.
Council had judicial authority in customary Agyeman Prempeh IT played to near perfection.
matters over the Ashantiheoe's subjects. But it For he was proud in his herita~e and learned
ran. 1970 THE LEGaN OBSERVER 11
STATE FISH ING CORPORATIO N
•
STAFF APPOINTMENTS
Applications are invited from su itably qualified persons for appoint-
ments to the following posts:
I. PRODUCTION MANAGER -To be responsible to the Managing
Director for the operation of tne Corporation's fishing vessels. He will
co-ordinate with the Ship Officers in the supervision and development
of the sea-going personnel.
Qualification: Candidates must be graduates in Engineering or Business
Administration. Post qualification experience in maritime affairs or in
fishing industry will be an ad van tage.
Candidates without such experience may be sent on a short orientation
course either locally or overseas.
2. FLEET MASTER-To co-ordinate with both the Production and Per-
sonnel! Administrative Managers in recruiting, maintaining and dis-
charging sea-going personnel.
Qualification: Candidates must h ave Inter C.C.S. or c.r.S. with 2 years
experience in personnel supervision or general education up to School
Certificate standard with 5 years experience in personnel administra-
tion or labour matters.
3. SENIOR ACCOUNTANTS-Ca ndidates must be A.C.A. A.C.CA.
A.C.W.A. or their equivalent with 3 years' post qualification experien-
ce.
4. ACCOUNTANTS-Candidates must be ACA. AC.C.A. or A.C.W.A.
with 2 years post qualification ex perience or B.Sc. (Accounts) A.AJ.A.
or AC.I.S. or A.C.C.S. with 3 years' post qualification accounting ex-
penence.
5. ASSISTANT INTERNAL AUDITOR-Candidates must be Inter
A.C.CA. A.CA, AC.WA or B.Sc. (Accounts). Final c.y.s., C.C.S
A.LA. with at least 2 years post qualification experience.
Salaries: The salaries attached to the above posts depend on qualifica-
tion and experience.
Application forms can be obtained from the Personnel Manager di-
rectly or through P.O. Box 211. Tema. Completed forms should reach him
not latcr than 15th June. 1970.
,
June 1970 THE LEGON OBSERVER 13
•
•
-and give them nourishment as well!
We have been in the foods business in Cream, Cascade Sweets ~u:d Bongo Coffee.
laIlla since 1923. Quite an expansion story!
Then we were only interested in being Over 235 Ghanaians are now being
Now the Accra Ice Company employed in five factories and three Cold
ces the Salis range of meat produ- Storage Depots.
~s, the Farmers Pride range of ~--=---, We feed people. We make good
products, Cascade Tce food for Ghana.
-
ACCRA ICE COMPANY
Makes Good Food
for Ghana! 1+-&-7650 -
VEJt IS
m at dlelplb -. J
.. w" ,. 1M P 'I rn
nh• 01. ....
bow..,. i* h"~ II' 'lID dv.t!C''' the .... .beRn the put. Por the Ant mjlb I. 'iA Ie: n, .... at
AJ). 01 !be ._, 01 lJopi",,1 AtIi"" wry f ...
•• F 55" ....... ...... are awilable. tbenlOie it ill lml'C" .. SWIJN
to make .. of dilCOVeria in maD)' nlat
_ • 1i..,,1otica, JIOIuoboIaay. ......_alp d bilCyi.· ------'. VJ ••_ pplnylo7_",' Ph ••
--:=W oIaD and .,....uDIOI)'. dwl decryiDa the African achieumeat I "",de SIR-Mr. O. A. Dookor". article OIl OheDl·. liT uplof-
i I tbal an:hacoJou is dcmonstr.Itiq the "cultural ment problems (LO. V /8) mad. very ilIlefttoliq ladi"'.
01 W_ Africa aDd i. providina "tanaible evi· But one finda it difticult to appreciate that hiI ....I yaia
ntbel' than tbeoriea baed on undocumented would be c:omplClCl without any iodicatiODI of. ..,..
to account for the put ....r iatiOlll in buman of the meatUres for IOlviq: the unanpO)'IDCIIt proo
ill. Africa. 8p,. ." ,lItion .bout the put is Dot bl_
WroDI .. Mi. Ayiai. .ems 10 lUIIest In my view, the immediate IOlutioo of the problemt
.... cI,i_ that t "deaounced the UlC of hyp.l- i. the creation of more job opportunities for tbe people.
in African hillOry"; nther it i, an .....i •• And to do thi., it i. neemn, that foreip inveI'hCOI
01 the fwtctioa. of. historian, be be or she • in Gbana be cncouraaod as much as poaible.
Ulin, documentary or non-documentary Por unle.u more flc:tories are built IDd indWltri.
aod t quoted aome of my speculations about set up, it is difficult to envisage any ialll'lCdiatc IOlution
mipations. What arcbaeolOliltJ have done i, to to the problem. Mo~r. to advocate the cocoa. .....
data on which SpeculatiON can be based for ment of for~ign investment would not be construed to
period before written documents or onl traditions mean that the nation's interest should be sacrificed or
abundanL liven away. Far from it.
some of tho insipts come from disciplines other The wealth and usetI of the country must be utilised
history, thi. can only lCt'Ve to mricb African for the benc-fit ot its people. There should alto be
and provide an awam1CSS of the varied lrealer effort to cut down Bovetnment .pending.
and contacts of the prC!mt day Africa Could it not help if the mirement ace of worken
I .. peopleo. wa, reduced to about fifty, in order that more ft.CUl-
"'. .._ 01 of Al,t erdci MnTlck ...... " ties would be created for the youna7
P.O. 80s: 9 Ja I,. GJ' ,,.
• W_~ ./A
------
Aba Alubca Ayisi" analysis of the hiltO- FiNd. . Esperu ... lAcal ~_tI
ftirtatioa with the inaccuracies of the African past
J.aId "" """_. .... (LO. V/IO). SIR-By virtue of inlerdependeDcc of nadont botb
laistorianl have claimed that African. never developed and underdeveloped countries bave to rely aD
• civilization. nor haw tbfy succ:eufully one another for various e«>nomic taton. . In devclopiq
one. Otben even contend that one of the countries in particular, economists often .treu the aeed
noel which have not made any creative c:on.. thQt forci.n "experts" in one discipline or another are
to civilization i. the Black race. 1t i. clear essential in.redients in the buildinl of a very lOund
Mi.. Alubea'. anatysf. that what motinted economy.
.pgrious and half-baked III mont ..... the ",bite- To thi. end. plannen of the national economy, espe-
...~ dclin 10 peapctua&e the -.abjection of the Afric:aa cially in developin. countrica, often. tend to live .pecial
priority to the forcip "experts" in certain lCC'ton or
attanplt by a few white bistorian. lUeb as Basil the economy even when local talenb may exist. lbit
~idoc" to .pphAda the continent'. past from a diver· bas inc:reasinSly paved the way for all sons of peoplo
\DtdoMwr"i"c'a. l tcIUCDpe. clearly indicate the profundity under the &\lise ot "experts" literally ftyina from ODe yet to be ac:aamutated by consistent study country to another.
...-...n 011 oar part. After thirteen yean of political indeptudence. we still
..... with Mi. AlMbea Ayi. that the African Bad that whenever an acmcc il lOUabt. the raort it
IItwhl _ plaCId in ita proper historical, ardHleo- always to the fordp expert. Thi. i. a pity becaUIC our
_a_nd aaduopoloeical ptilpective: IAtf_ric a can trained Ghanaian. bcc:omoe nqlcded. despite the fact tonaer be ipored In the study of worlel billoroy.- r. lbat they are better able to appreciate local CODciitiona. I aaree witb a receilt IUgcstion in an Attn; daily
that toman cxpcrll mould be called in only when theN
are no qualifted Ghanaians in particular areu of spero
.. "Iel .. lioo.
writIDa It h S II .. 'Y. PI 5 aMI n - J .. to· II. that e1ither ............. A_
la~' I, or M". .,WlmO ..I I qeney. new •
.. F ......... tab the WOit of. .............
, GIll .."
_ .. _"",l ovftt " ".u7 z. __. w ..... Nadl. "'. In Cape 0.. . .... "If'h ••) w_hicIa SIR-I wa M lib to uf··.' wat OD Mr. P. A. V. An h', h n ia .. at I (LO. V/8) apim? my
...... X t "'CA' m ....... Na?ioo" _
;,. ... 7 7 ...,.. IE 71 [Id en I III .. ;c"it • I of .. pap.r.
JUDe 1970 THE LEGON OBSERVER 17
I
Onnk, Fan nol only as a delicIous.
'elres,""ng milk drll'lk but as a body-buildIng
'ood to keep you n lip-lop healthy
condit on Choose Irom two delightful
Uavours wt'Jlle or chocolate - both
con lain the health gIVIng ingredients thaI
yOll need tor a happy acllve hIe
FAN MILK LTD
iUI,r'.n• • 'ood rerr ••h rnenl
• •
_ 1970 THE LEGON OBSERVER 19
r
•
Beware of imitations ,
SUPER SOFT • 100')(, WOOD FREE
WET STRONG
• '00%
PERFORATED • 100')(, MAXIMUM
COMFORT
ANTISEPTIC • 100')(, CHEMICAllY
FREE FROM
LIME
AVAILABLE FROM ALL LEADING STORES
Sanitary Paper Products Ltd .
. BOX 5728 FACTORY MILE 6, NSAWAM ROAD ACCRA
, - )
se,."e,.
,, .""'" fDITORIAt NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND
)EVELOPMENTS REGIONAL a..AIMS
IN nIB Sessional Address delivered at !he opening of
IN THE Busia's first parliament last October, the government througb Brigadier Afrita pledged itself to equabl. develop-
ment througbout th. country u a whole. Particular
REGIONS weight was thrown behind the undert.king to redress region.
aI imbalance. and in both th. expressed and implied argu-
ments which discussion of the topic has generated since
then. th. cases of particular regions and areas have been
... .. . .. . 1 pressed by advocates committed to these places. Readers
Development and Re,ional of the ugon ObsuvD' will recall the .laborate case present-
ed for the Volts Region last year by our occasional con-
. tributor "Educal". and the exhaustive rebuttal put forward • .. 2 by another writer calling himself "Ignoramus" (L.O. IV /22•
~"'"ri.1 Productivity: Soviet Style 24. & 25).
Adali-Mortty During the present and closing stages of th. first session
... 6 of our first parliament under the new regime, the issue of
StfUCN.re of Education in equal and unequal regional d.v.lopment has been brougkt
Aru. 'almost dramatically back to throbbing life. recalling the
. K. A. Gardiner arguments and contentions of "Educat" and HIgnoramus·' .
Coatt University - A Rejoinder II the debate bas not also succeeded in drawing an analogy
Asiedu·Akroti. with the famous and classic Nigerian one of revenue alJoca~
tion by derivation versus development grants according to
Apin: Teachen' Unifonn
regional needs. this was no fault of the respective protagon-
~:::~ ists in that previous struggl.; it was probably due only to NOTEIIOOI( ..... Zl the inapplicabilily of the derivation clause to th. Ghana-
. John Matthew Poku: The New ian case. The point is that the argumc:o.t. by the selective
trick.o of debate. can sway this way and aat with great
passion and seeming validity each way, where regional
advocates have the evidence of poor development to push
... .. •.• 26 forward . But w. can be led astray by what may be called
f:;~ and Sacrifice progressive self-coDviction. and this is what all good citi-
I!t at Li«nsin, Office. zens have to guard themselves against in such matters.
African in Latin·America On this occasion the issue of particularistic regional
Education" for Africans? claims to priority consideration in the allocation of develop-
PIi,bt of the Photolrapl!cr ment funds was reopened with the motion of Mr. Ibrahim
Unemployment -Problema
Mobama. th. N.A.L. m.mber for Tamal. wbo is also
of Teachers secr.lary of the AUiance party. Mr. Mobama called for
REVIEW .. .. 2J ". special accelerated development programme for the • •
i rulba Poetry: An AntbololY of North. .. since. he stressed, the two northern regions (North~
Poans ern and Upper) w. ... "less developed" than others in the
country. The motion called for this measure &5 a sure
by fmc lkiddch
"""ns of rapidly bridging "th. gaps" between the north
• 29 and the rest. Well. Mr. Mahama's plea promptly resurrect-
!o,,.,.stic,",,with Joe Apalahala ed the temporarily "dead" issue between "Educat" and
• Of and PolitiCi "Ignoramus": Is the North more backward or neglectoo
:"""'. . Meu. .w a than say, the Volta Regioo? II the Volta Rcpoo in worse
".-
.,.
.
..
,.. ...
.. .
.,....... .... ...
v. .............
....."7._
11--"
-......
•
t9 Juno 1970 THE LEGON OBSERVER 3
:conomics, socio--cultural or business problems, ver- more or less, which those workers who exceed it
,al exhortation flooded out concrete proposals and are remunerated for withal.
'emedial action. Missionary-educated persons in The active elements in incentive payments are:
)ositions of power today believe that, by merely that they are the variable extra; that they are
DoraJizing or exhorting. their consciences would consciously earned by exceeding a given performan-
x set at peace, virtues would replace vice, and ce standard unit or level: that they are stimuli
:leeds would result. for output over and above what would be achieved
OUT business leaders. who are the more practical witbout the incentive bait; and tbat the additional
:nioded and the more realistic members of the unit of performapce is assessable by objective
lociety. ignore the application of commercial means. In other words, the additional is actively
incentives. Contrary to general belief, salaries worked for. and actively expected, unlike the
d wages which are time-based are not incentive- periodic salary or wage, the earning of which is
riented. Recipients of such incomes do not link measured by the time span, not the job done extra
ciT job performance-its quantity and quality- well or in excess of a unit norm.
ith the end-of-month payment.. There is no As a necessary background to the systQll1 of
ireet relationship between output and income. tbe Soviet incentive payments, we need to remind
s in Ghana, a person is employed in the public ourselves of the organization and management, of
rvices, and his progression through the salary industry in that State-centred, at once sprawling and
les is more or Ie .. automatic. tightly controlled bureaucratic system of economic
The Great Depression administration.
Within the framework of central planning,
After the expiration of the proving period, each administrative unit- "from the shop up to
DOwn hereabouts as tbe probationary period, the ministry" level- is held financially responsible
n employee's periodic remuneration may be asso- and independent within the framework laid down
iated in some remotely vague way with job tenure from above. This is the principle known in the
t the pleasure of the employer, but this is gradua- Soviet Union as the self-supporting principle.
lly replaced by complacency and a sense of secu-
rity. The ever-living consciousness usually asso- Economic Solvency
iated with inducement earnings is replaced by a Given the initial resources in the form of capital
eeting of continuity of tenure, unless, perhaps, fund, the self-supporting principle expects that
lome gross misconduct or accidental collapse of the fund shall revolve and gather operational re-
.he enterprise restores consciousness for earning turns. For this reason resources are given opera-
ne's keep. A feeling that one's job is tbere for keeps tional or functional autonomy. In other words, tbe
ntil some distant retiring age, when one attains unit of resources is isolated and is given economi-
the end of the employment contract with gratuity cally functional independence "within the frame-
nd pension, is the norm. The widespread termi- work of which the enterprise or trust can operate
ations of tenure due to redundancy between 1966 its resources and select the most effective way of
and 1969 and, latterly, the termination of the 568 their utilization." The unit plans its own turnover
public servants had not been witnessed since the of funds and controls the utilization of the funds in
Depression years. such a way that expenses are covered by returns.
In the minds of employees, direct relationship The unit is thus held accountable for its solvency
between what one achieves by way of performance and economic ftrtility.
and one's paid income becomes opaque and tben The "basic and Circulating capital .. whicb we
finally fades off. As an employee, one just carries shall call production funds may, by virtue of
on, and the job is held. Particularly is this the growth or expansion demands, draw upon a
case in the public services, where Involved proct-- number of credit sources for supplementation,
dures and rules insulate tbe employee against over and above the profit addition to the CIrCU-
dismissals. " lating capital.
The principle of incentive payments rests on The resources from which the various Head
objective stimulation by the award of some form Offices, Production Trusts or Ministries make the
or other of reward. applied as a bribe, and abo'r'e allocations towards the temporary financial
aimed at the improvement of performance. In assistance to enterprises may be one or a number
practice, there is usually a permanent or regular of the following: capital investment r~serves,
salary or wage, supplemented by a variable com- wage fund reserves, sinking fund reserves, the last
pensation depending upon additional output over of which is earmarked for capital repairs.
ODd abo• • !be basic or expected Dormal output. Such financial assistance may be extended to
lD other words, a minimum unit or output is set enterprises or purposes of introducm& new ml-
19 Juno 1970 TIlE LEGON OBSERVER s
This Is the calculator you have
been waiting for· The new NCR
Electronic calculator Model lS.
It Is capable of adding, subtracting,
dividing, multiplying, rounding off,
raising to a power, extraction of
, square root and j::ombinatlons of ,. these functions· and it operates in
a fraction of a second with quiet ,
accuracy. The easy to read display
shows up to 14 digits.
Call the NCR Representative to
I give you a comprehensive fLfCTR demonstration.
CALC LA
/
,
,
The National Cash Register Co.(GhanaIUd.,
P.O. Box 1010, Kojo Thompson Road, Accra.
Phonal 64583/4. Branche. in Kuma.i, Takoradl end Tema.
June 1970 TIffi LEGON OBSERVER 7
emphasis on the applied sciences and arts.
undertaking problem-oriented research related
rural development. It is a1so suggested that an
system of non-fonnal education be Of-
for the out-of-school youth, tbe adult
labour force, and women.
Primary Level-DuratioD 7 years What makes Signal
The primary cycle extends over seven years,
and comprises two sub-cycles of 4 years and so different from
3 years. The first sub-cycle of four years (lower
primary) is intended essentially to achieve a
minimum level of literacy, including elemen-
tary number skills. It may be regarded as a
preparation for the oex.t sub-level of prircary
education (senior primary), and in cases whe-
re this is terminal its objective is also to pre-
pare the mind to be receptive to new ideas.
Educational attainment at this level does not
prepare one for much more than unskilled
labour. It will be noted that the duration,
content and objectives of this sub-level are
the same for the town and country child.
Two Educational Streams
Tbe second sub--cycle of three years (senior
primary) is common to all town children and •
the objective is to provide a general education,
with emphasis on the further acquisition of
language and number skills. In so far as the IT's THE
country child i.s concerned. there are two
~.treams of educational experience offered :
(a) a small percentagc (which is a mattcr -for IN RED ,
political decision) of children will pursue •
the same general education course as Thl. V1t81 Element Glv. . You
urban children in preparation mainly Strong Healthy Clean Whtte Teeth
for an academic (or grammar school Pure Fresh Breath
typc) secondary education or secondary Healthy Gum.
commercial education; S A Gel i ,,·tree Mouth
(b) the great majority of rural children will
receive a practical type of prevocational e~.-----_..,
education in rural fann schools, concen- touR ,Et'" SIGNAl
trating upon activities related to farming
operations. rural handicrafts. and home-
craft (for the girls), though instruction
in language and number skills will not
be neglected. The objective of this sub-
cycle is to orient the mind of the child
to a kno'41edge of the rural environment
and rural activities in which he is likely •
to find the source of his livelihood. The
sub<ycle is a preparation for the voca-
tional education and ua:ning of the next
secondary cycle, but it is more than likely
that it will be terminal for many a young-
Iter a' the age "r 13 01 14 (especially
~1~9~J:~:C~1~~~O~ ______~ ;::::I:H=E=iL:E:GO==N=O::BS=E=R=V:~:R~ __________________ 9
, •
\
\
••
•
-and give them nourishment as well!
•
We have been in the foods business in Cream,Cascade Sweets and BongoColfee.
Ghana since 1923. Quite an expansion story!
Then we were only interested in being Over 235 Ghanaians are now being
importers. Now the Accra Ice Company employed in five factories and three Cold
produces the Salis range of meat produ- Storage Depots.
cts, the Farmers Pride range of .------=.:---, Wefeedpeople. Wemakegood
chicken products, Cascade Ice food for Ghana .
•
ICE COMPANY
Makes GoodFood ,. •
for Ghana! J+- £-7650 1-
June 1970 TIlE LEGON OBSERVER II
•
-
-,------------------------------,
•••
.. but Lufthansa wouldn'tl
This happy SItuation comes about by
our Mickey Mouse Service
In child terms this means a MIckey
Mouse girl to play with. In our terms
It means a chlld-Iover- mums each
one of them.
We love the little darlings. Even
when they empty mum's handbag,
paint hpstlck on the seat and strip
down to the,r napples.
Also we spend more on games and
toys than any other airline This helps
to keep the httle ones out of your eeL
Mum's ear too.
Very Ilitie ones use very big napples
So we lay them both out on a special
nappy table to be found in one of our
tOIlets Which makes mum feel at
home when there are no Mickey
Mouses about.
As we said. we love lovmg the
little ones. and what you love domg
you do awfully well
Of course I Only the little ones may
pIa V with M1ckev Mouses
8 Lufthansa
I
__- -I
ntdIl-LUPT 017
:19. .J: n.n.e: .197
13 '
:::0: :..:..:..:-=------T-II=E= LE:.G.O.=N .O.:B:S.E.:R:V..E:R. ....:.::.:=:......::::.;.------.
.
BOEING FAN JET LUXURY SERVICE TO
AND ALL OF EAST AFRICA
Finest In-flight Service· Duty-free shopping on board
INFORMATION and RESERVATIONS
11 1 Cocoa House, P. O. 80". 3600, Tel. 22356. Accra.
CARGO SPACE ON EVERY FLIGHT
;-
AIRT.TNES
,
• •
.
~ l ;
l .
•
\
\ -
-.
19 June 1970 TIlE LEGaN OBSERVER IS
• ,
• /
I
I
•
r. ,
p
•
10rink fan nOt only as 8 delicious,
refreshing milk drink, but as a body-building
food to keep you in tip-top healthy
condition. Choose from two delightful
flavours, white or chocolate - both
contain the heallh giving ingredients that
you need for a happy active hie.
FAN MILK LTD --
.. • Supreme 'ood refreshment
June 1970 THE LEGON OBSERVER 17
1. • , ..... .
,I .." . "'." ."'t ..... ~ .. ,., ••. "..... ~ ,., t ~ . ".. ,.,'. '-.. ,:•,•." · .t ' , ; ... ,
So tingling-fresh, so crisp and clear to
your taste, Fanta QuiOlr:e Tonic makes
gin'" tonics taste better. More and more
smart mixers are getting the best out of
their gin'" tonic because they're mlxmg
with Fanta Quinine Tonic.
TONIC
The Tonic with MORE TANG! MORE TINGLE! MORE TO IT!
•
•
•
lune 1970 TIm LEGON OBSERVER 19
Starting in business or industry?
Already established and expanding?
awaits
youat
Bank
•
MR. EMMANUEL N, NORTEY is Ihll Man.lger 01 the Kimberley A~MUI!' branch of Barclars Bank,ln Accra. In the
course of h;s career wl/h Bareldrs. ex/ending oller fifteen years, he hDS worked in many capacities
and in nin" dlfferMi branchu of the bank. Mr. Nortey has three times bern to the United Kingdom on 'raining
courses and ho/ds the Institute of Bank.,s Associate Diploma which he gained in 1963 with distinction In
tfl" hw Relatmg to Banking. HI! was formerly Manager of Knutsford ,Avenul!', Acer., branch.
Whtn Mr, Notlf!y welcom.s customers inlo his offlce they can be SUfI!' thai tfltly will gel/ht! soundl!'st banking ad"lc~1
Nd«l by his wid. exper/e.'1ce, and all the selilices tlJili &relars can offer.
'Whether your business is large or small, the comprehensive facilities o~ Barc1ays are at
your disposal. \Vitb its progreseive outlook ..• ita wide
experience ot banking in Ghana. ..• its connections with the City of london
and the whole world .•. ita network: ot more than 60 brancbes throughout Ghana. Barclayg
can "sjatyouin 80 many ways. And always in tho spirit ot helpful eervicc.
OD'ltR.El\"T ACCOUNTS. Dl:l"OSIT ACCOUNTS, SA\ -""1X09 ACCOt;NTB, BTANDI:.iU ORDERS, FOREIGY
llX.CBANOE, BILLS AND DOCUMENTARY OREDITS. MONEY TRAN SFERS. TRA.V ELI.ER8' CHEQUEB.,
BUSINESS ADVICE, BTATC"S UPORTS, INVESTMENT ADVICE,INSURA:iCE ARRANOEMEYI'S.
•
' 1uao 1970 THE LEGON OBSERVER 21
'1.
•. '
•
,
j
,•
..•
I
"
GHANAKOTE:
Ill' superglos. ".m,1 p.l,tlllar. IISY 10 kllp
cl.ln and protects woodwork. Available In I range
.f !Saulin; colours.
,
TEMAID:
the emulsion paint that makes your bome com.
alin. Madl to list In hot climates Ind IYlilable lD
• I'Ingl of uclting colour •.
'.
,
BEESHAM CEMENT PAINT:
protectt your hom. In III "'llthm. Specialty
...d , to give added atll,glll ••d I. known hlr III
durability qualities.
• •
~, .
, 'i
• • GIHOC
I~
Availabl. from •••d ing h.rdw. ...
store. or direct from the factory.
. PAINT DIVISION • GHANA INDUSTRIAL HOLDING CORPORATION
P.O. BOX 144. TEM" • PHONE 2828_
I June 1970 TIlE LEGON OBSERVER
has any doubts that the 'cheers and wild applause'
)bserver Notebook were representative of the affectionate feeling
and respect that the people of Ashanti have for
Nana Poku. Those who have known in his work
Mr. John Mattbew Poku: The New Asaulehooe as an official of the Kumasi Municipal Council,
HE newspapers reported on the 15th of June in his student days in London (where he was the
at Mr. John Matthew Poku, a nephew of the uncrowned chief of the Ashanti community in
te Otumfuo the Asantehenc. had been nominated that city) and in his bdef career as a barrister
• the Asantehemaa and unanimously accepted readily testify to his courtesy and very humane
• both the Kumasi Traditional and Asanteman qualities, very important prerequisites of modern
Juncits as the Asantehcne-elect. Nana Atakora chiefship; here is no person inclined to lord I I
"~.~~~~!~~1~~ II, Mamponghene and Acting it over others. It was these qualities that won
~ of the Ashanti Region House of Chiefs him high office under the National Liberation
made the announcement to tbe Press is re- Council and have made him the widely acclaimed •
~":d to have said that a convened meeting of king of Ashanti.
Asantcman Council had unanimously accepted
Poku's nomination and declared to "cheers He is the most successful blend of tradition
wild applause": "Therefore I, Atakora and modernity that one could possibly come
II, Mamponghene and acting Pre- across and this capacity to combine tradition
of the Ashanti Region House of Chiefs, and modernity should serve him well as Asante-
behalf of the queenmother, paramount chiefs. hene in the middle of the twentietb century.
chiefs of Kumasi and on my own behalf, For the qualities required in a modem Asante·
Nana Joh.. n Matthew Poku as the .. bene are slightly different from those required in
the Asantebenes of old. In tbe great days of
one who has been in Kuruasi and other Ashanti, her embattled people required an ambit·
Ashanti since the death of the late Otumfuo uios king who "knew no fear." Today what is
. .
use apex
1
ball point pen
.If'JO 11IE LEGON OBSERVER
•
• Beware of imitations
SUPER SOFT • 100"'" WOOD FREE
WET STRONG • 1 00"'" NON ABRASIVE
PERFORATED • 100% MAXIMUM
COMFORT
ANTISEPTIC • 100"'" CHEMICALLY
FREE FROM
LIME
AVAILABLE FROM ALL LEADING STORES
Sanitary Paper Products Ltd .
. BOX 5728 FACTORY MILE 6. NSAWAM ROAD .ACCRA.
11IB LEClON OBSeRVER
..... aft Be". ............. frOID. the dupti- tomeb.ow wroDi for little Francopbones 10 learn French
_ or trip6 lie copla left iD die receipt boob; poeb)'. Alia many olber uticJa. They 1= d 10 .Y four
, • "M. wbicb. are ....n a .. to be few. call be thinlL
la, '1pted aDcI W'iiIi.j~icated to Ibo ownen of The flnt i, that eclucatioa should be runl. manual,
.. whidel .beD detocted later. and simple. which it rather like sayina ''We do not
• aida. .. aDd lUQClliont bold aood for the wanl any education". And perbapt it mould be--for
... Lic:enaina Oftlc:e wbieb i. aUqedly due to the unscboolworthy. But wby the untehoolworby should
Hithed IOOIl at the ..i dp Policc POiti for it i. bave to be the Africans, in Botswana or anywbcre ebe.
.........i nittBtion. the ...m e system of work. the nobody seems to say.
Wu. and. perhaps., similarly instructed persoMcl The second i. that tbere oupt not to be an eEte.
.n ,oiDi to be dcptoyecl then. which meant that if a lad is clever at something ha
" .... ea. H. K. Ablo ought not to be tau&ht 10 do it. beausc the others
cannot do it too.
1be third is that education should be technologiCiI.
The trouble with this one i. that it is impossible to
have technological education more complicated th'in
All AfrI_ .. Lode America scrubbing the ftoor without ha ... ina an ~Iite. ]t might
Ofori Akyea'. intcrestin, impressions frl)m be possible to avoid an elite of literary men, arti,ts,. •
~:;:: made me remember a thouabl tbat had and people who make life worth Iivin • • but why should
~ at the back of my mind since I came to anybody want t01
IeYCII yean a,o, and whieb miaht offer a prac- The fourth i. that education should be palri..,tic:
fea.ible approach to the problem of chanaing "Beowulf" for tbe English. but Ananse for the Gh~
of awareness of Ghana in some Latin Amcric. . 11 naian!. That i. magnificent 50 long as they do not in- )
don't we try a recipe the U .S.A. ba\'e clude Greek and Latin lilerature on the bladc-or
to their advantaac and let Music be our should it be the whitc7- Hst. After an, they arc
The power of music over the heart of written in African languages. for if Arabic counts as
i. undoubted (one hal only to tbir.t an African language, brought into Africa by invad.:-n
of the adivilies of Bruil', unique "mu- in the seventh cenlury AD, then Latin hu to be
recorded lOund'.,. etc.). I . . one too. for it was !:poken seven hundred yean earlier:
is a Itronl Afncan flavour pellueatlRg thelt and 50 must Greek, for it was lpoken more than fire
music, IOfIIC of which reminds us of what we hunderd yean before that.
1 ~~~iC": "Conso" music. Generally. the level of A patriotic education misht ma1ce one of these lan·
~ in orchestration (thouSh not in drum· guage. the medium of instruction Ihroushout Africa.
appean to be bisher in Latin America. Why abolishin, Ans!ophony. Francophony, and Cacophony.
not our producen of record. of African music a..tcs Dep.. Oaph I Baew'"
~"""I at breakina into the Latin American music Lea. .
(l am deliberately ellc1udins any variety like
influenced only too obviou.ly by Western mo-
tbU bat not the pOd of a chance of com· 'lhe PlI&b' of dric PbOf. ...p .er Bee
with what they have already lot dirfct from the SIR- May] make an observation or two OD the letter
ODd Europe)
ny of K. B. Forae on "Preservina Ghana', Monuments" Mould we oundvCl not import Latin (L.O. V/ I2).
recorda direct from Latin America. to live
~Ia .*'4 relevant and stimulatinl idea.? [ am Photoaraphy, both amateur and professional. fonm
would be much liked by Ghanaian mu,ic one of the main and effective mean. of recordinl eur-
A musically tn.,.,ledaable private entrepreneur rent history. culture and tradition. ]n addition to these
mate a fortune on thClC ideas. utilitarian upects il is also an art capable of exprasinl
.... pemmcnt level a weU·pubticiud tour by beauty and mood. It il ulCd extensively in research and.
dancers and. abCJve.all. drummen milht help at the 5IU'lle time may be a creative medium in the
inlered in and a. ..t ene. of Ghana. On('e hands of the talented.
and drumminl have opened peoples' beart~ A photographic record bas a distinctive role wb;ch
could come and consolidate the transcends linauiltic barrien. Thi. i. aHested to by the
their ulUIII method. of diplomatic actio;!. impact of the pietul"Cl on television and in the news-
kteral reuonl I believe that Brazil WOllJd papen of 'he funeral ceremonies of the talc Asantehene.
"",. • Ukely .... nina·point for such a campai!". It is therefore a great pity thai in Ghana today photo-
I' 2 , ph. a. M.I. Tr P ,raphy bas become 10 prohibitively expensive al to
make it virtually impossible to cnPIC in it as a bobby.
The profCllional photOirapbcn have been fcelin, the
pinch for many yean now.
"11 WI d - .. Uk , 1be complainl i. often made thai not many Gha-
loa. ,I ClpIr do DOt n I iD to wanl Africans to be naian. haYe hobbies. ancl that we do 1l0t rm.ke gOl'ld
I .. milia. .. DOt to uy white racialist ow,.. use of our Peisute boun. Yet we fntltnte any inclin:t.
..... udcJe fa ' N 1 1969 .....I y about tion toward. the dew:lopmenl of a better life by aD
_ .. _ola_uli ~oltbe injudicious system of taxation. and hip overhead and
.1'+ ,...' ... IIn_ at 1be "ICall of proftl maqins by .,me wholealen and mailers. An
, .. D slim" • II naraI. W)QIr.d+ -L
«. ..... cumple would not ClWioe ami .. The buic price tor 0Qe .. • .. iL aDd .,. Ibat it iii roll of lSmm JC ......... mcao 11 it NCI.JO for tba 20 ~.
1970 THE LEGON OBSERVER
ways are unpredictable and his temper volcanic; Guinea. The prescnt work on Yoruba poetry may
lends money and docs not ask: it back. convince such critics that if Viii Beier bas deserted
you do not offer him a seat Nigeria, hIS interest in Nigeria has not deserted him.
wilt sit on top of your nosc.
you do nol share your maize aruel with him
will slip under your finger nail
I::~v.take his share. Miscellaneous O,un. the feared God of War IS at once
M.st" of iron, chief of robbers ... CONVERSATIONS wrm JOE APALAJIALA
is a mad god
will ask Questions after stven hundred I. OF CRICKET AND POLITIQ
and eighty years. By
God of the Forest is praised and iruulted In KMme Ademoawa
breath:
mends the broken pot LAST week, so 10 speak, I introduced Joe to you as my
mends the broken fortune companion-piece, my shadow, my devil-twin; a most
two lines after comes !.he shocking abuse) extraordinary, exasperating, disgusting. deliibtful-in
!~~.:', short. impouible -fellow I said Joe and I spent a great raned Cod, ,
(c cloth is full of lice deal at time in conversation, argument, and verbal •
fI""" and thief! fights, and I ended that introductory exercise by pro-
mising to reproduce for you today a typical set-to b:-
Cultur.ll [telDJ tween Joe and me. Well, I am going to do just that.
but fint allow me to tell you a little morc about Apala-
of the finest poems in the volume is the lone hala, the better for you to appreciate the CantaJtlc
under 'Manialc', entitled, Rec:1talioo of the complexities of lhe man when you come to them. Be-
It i, a young woman'. apprehensive expect'· lieve you me. this extended introduction will payoff
ot the '.trange bouse' that is to be her new handsomely (or ),"ou.
There is aometbing in the sentiment and move-
of the sona which con,tandy reminds one of By some unaccountable mental process, at any rote
p' Bitek's celebrated Sooa of Lawino. But some unaccountable to me, all tbe elements of speech: wonfoJ,
items mentioned in the poem raise in my expressions. idioms, construction: as well as the pro-
the basic question: What in fact is a tradiliooal ceaft of speech. of thought itself and meaning, arc
The items include 'bright scarf' and 'angrv subject fo lightning-fast transformation in Joc's ."ftld
, U traditional implies a banding down from So that in that mind words take OD their o ... n oppo-
then it follows that eitber the translation ,itcs in mcaning, or become distorted, or assume alter-
modem bere, or that the poem is traditional native fonns, or go through all these changes. in rapid
in 'omit or that traditional is used to embnce .uccession within the same context or situation, $Ome-,,'0' forms ... batever the period of composition. times within the same breath of Joe's lungs-which he
Beier prc.sentinS Yoruba poetry as a livin, tradi • calls his "breI'( bacs", incidentally.
... bich it ii, would probably subscribe to the
Often , Joe would mix not only words and ideas but
VICW. accents. He would, for instance, in the same sentence
of the value of thIS anthololY IS the Introduo- use the correct form "En,liah" as well as a distortion
Oa 'fnnslatlnc: YoruM Poetry. This should be o( it luch as "Hinghsh" <as he does in the Convena-
to translators and students of West African tion ... hich follows shortly her~under). He would also
cenenlly. But Yoruba is • unique lanaua,c. often regale me with his rendition of the different
modulations of tone and highly preci['ll- (orms of "pidgin" English. He would say "jodge", u
patterns lend it that sinS-sona quality which i'l in Siern Leone or Nigeria, and ";edge" as in Ghana,
the bane of the verse: t.ra.nslator and the sour.:e (or "judge"-as in English l He twists proverbs, indul-
possibility of rendenn, a whole poem in ges in "spoonerisms". mangl~ pet idioms, and altog:4
;;~:~:~.drum sounds. Mr. Beier has taken care ther makes tattef5 of the English languag~. Especially I the rich tonal subtlety of the laoJUa,e the En,lish langua,e.
adequate examples (A "spoonerism", J might explain in passing-for ;t
•
the benefit of literary historianl and ~rch isn't too familiar a filUre of speech-is named after
however, it would have been appropriate here the Reverend William Spooner, and English Clergyman
answers to such backaround questions as. who lived from 1844 to 19)0 and wu a warden of Ne ...
il the approxln\ate date of the earliest known College, Oxford. Mr. Spooner was in the habit roe
what proportion of It can be identified as transpoSing sounds in a succession of words. especially
modem, how widespread arc changcs in venion, initial letters, in such a way as to achieve some very
differences might one expect in performen and funny resulls sometimes. For an example from th
Co.". composition accordin, to the type of poetry dictionary: "A crush in, blow" beocmes a "blushiOlI:
function? crow"! Well. Joe in\lents his own lpectacular spooner-
Isms all the time).
obSl:rven of Mr Beier ha\le good humoured-
that he can only wort. among so-called In addition. more than anybody else J know in Ghal\a.
racu, that he packed his ba,s the moment Joe makes a wreck of Twi, Ga and. say, Hausa. He
W;.~. .. became too 'ci\'ililed' for his taste and took tometimes talks in an three of these languages at once.
" ·primitive' dimes, namely, Papua and New in one cascade or purple word. aDd phrues, uttered
1970 THE LEGON OBSERVER 31
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·01. V No. 14 3-16 July 1970 PrIce: ISDp
• 1NII ISSUE
M>3'iAGE 2 •
Years of tbe Le,on Obsuvu
3
of the United Nations
COMMUNICATION J 4
First Session of Ghana',
Parliament
""'CY and Dc~lopment
Kodjo Kudiabor
LAW s
and Economic Development
Modibo T Oeran
• 12
Heath and Africa
Max Auunena
Pli&bt ot the Palestinian• .
Years after tbe Six-day War
Political Correspondent
NOl'EJIOOI( 20
Relations In Ghana
OAU and Freedom Fiahte.n
Labour, Now Conse:rvaUve
22
Games Politia Play
Beaver Aircraft Accident
and Afrian History
of Tribali-sm
Unemployment Problema
Tucbcrs' Un,(onns
•
Gilt of Brazilian Football
Co""po~.~d~cn~' ______________•_ __ _
... JOI,•
.... 'e _ e .~.~~:~:
19'1O TIm LEOON OBSERVER 3
deuce. bowever fragiJely. and the movement
DILEMMA OF DIE VNrn:D NATIONS towards the raising of the status of womanhood:
these and other khievements are well known.
IiSf w..... in the Opera House in San This does not mean that the U.N., as a peace
nac:isco. world statesmen gathered to celebrate keeper, is not of interest to the helpless COUD~
Ie ~ty.fifth anniversary of the inauguration
r tries which are often grouped under the general the United Nations Organization. category of the Third World. Obviously they
A twcnty-five-ycar life span is an indication of can continue to exist only within the context of
.turation in the experience of any institution a world peace. But what is true is that, when it
ad we deem it appropriate to look at some of comes to the U.N. as an agency of peace. we
achievements and difficulties. the hopes and realize. with an indescribably poignant helpless.
disillusionments. that have beset this world ness. that peace in the world depends (for the /
bdv which is, as yet. perhaps mankind's best moment) on only two countries : the United
iia,del for existence. Stales and the Soviet Union. These two coun.
Wben. in June 1945, men gathered to affirm tries are. of course. the pivots of two ideolo.
detennination "to save succeeding geneT J- gical power blocs. and the desire to score
~s from the scourge of war." the fate of the ideological points abroad and to enhance
moribund League of Nations must have national prcs tige at home has appeared to be ,
uppermost in their minds. Through the marc important to them than the universal cry
of the first World War. it had become for 'World peace. These two countries have the
~. ..a ry in 1919 to set up an organization weapons which can. each . cause untold ravage
would serve as a forum for discussion
to mankind. If the available military arsenal
for international understanding and co-
were 10 be used . the memory of Hiroshima and
p.,ration. A human institution exists through Nagasaki would be child's play.
rather than through preambles. and this It is in this respect that the difficlflties of U
clearly evident in the case with which the Thant. the Secretary.General. become glaring He
IeaI!Ue's lofty ideals met early death . is now the frustrated number one world civil ser.
the U.N. is the successor to The vaelt and it may need a lot of persuasion to get fIim
cf Natiros. its ramifications are wider, to accept a further term of office when his pres~'1t
so also are its difficulties. It is now entrust· term expires. U Thant knows. as we all do, that it
with the task of catering to human problems is not the United Nations that has kept the pf:a.:e
in hi story. The U.N. is an oppor· in the universe sinc\! its inception. Take. for
par excellence for its over one _ ~u_ndr~ instance. the Middle East. where both sides of
-.!Wenty_ -.member countries to do talking, the combat have freely repUdiated U.N. Security
than warring. Especially with the deeo- Council decisions on the ccasefire. Take, al~.
era and the aSCcr1t to nationhood of Indo-China. where peace depends. not so much
countries. many nations. some with on the Indo-Chinese people themselves as on the
which are less than a million. have correct interpretations of ideologies by particu-
members of an organization which lar ind ividuals living hundreds of miles away
regards all such member countries from the scene of the conflict. And. back in
equally sovereign. That the countries are not Africa. take the U.N. operatioos in the Congo,
powerful economically. militarily, and where the inteieats of the Congolese appeared to
.erwi'le--is at once the institution's best be less significant than the images of some out-
and its worst disadvantage. lying powcr structures.
the U.N .• The dilemma of the U.N. is that in circums.
would lD_ __ enwre lances such as the foregoing it can do DO more
had the CbanClC to interact with giant than condemn. Despite world.widc condemna.
for ~_ of economic and cultural tions through the world body. apartheid still
11 is in this respect that the smal- continues. and South Africa still refuses to sur~ j
fmcf more meaning in the U.N. render the U.N. Trust Territory of Snuth.West
its various orpos, such as the Economic Africa: Rhodesia's CCNlomy is still such that the
Social O>imal; ilie lnl<mati&oaJ Court of rebel regime has not crumbled: innocent women
dJo Food oDd Apicultural Organization. and cbiklrcn in pt'aSBnt areas in Asia suffer un.
World Hcahh Orpnization. oDd (rt<e"dy)
"me told massacre from wars which are decided from U.N.c.T AD. The IOIIeDI \0 which outside their own subcontinent~ and Communist
able \0 ...j oy dt· iDd.p '- Cbiaa. with aboul a fourth of IIle
•
.Iy 1970 THE LEGON OBSERVER
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3 July 1970 THE LEGON OBSERVER 9
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19'10 TIm LEGON OBSERVER 11
cannot be answered on philosophical ~
It io true, of c:oune. that two of the greatest alone, Hence social engineering through law
IIoIriali '.mi1ia of law - the Common Law also implies a research for those conditions
the Civil Law - have been able to support under which laws would be most efficacious. It
levels of economy. But this fact docs involves. in other words. the science of legisla-
take us very far. It merely means that. tion: predictions of the effects of proposed rules
a long CDOugb time period, legal institu· on the activity of role-occupants (public officials
am accommodate themselves to a variety or ordinary citlzens).
social arrangements. On this view. law is II is on these aspects of law that legal acade·
morc than a register or ccxlification of Dorms, mics in Africa should focus their research. In
taJues and habits already operative in society. Ghana. too much importance is still placed on
incidentally, is supposed to be the classical providing purely descriptive and analytic infor-
Ioc~ollo posltton, usually attributed to mation about traditional branches of law. Too
Graham Sumner. This position, how- much research effort is still directed to the law
requires us to define the role of legal relating to family relations, inheritance, the
rather narrowly, as it in effect enjoins ownership and alienation of land. and the strue·
to follow social change always, like a ture and operations of corporations. I do not
~inc:c consort. meaD to deprecate works in these areas. Some
One of the important tasks of legal academics of them are well·written. and are the product
in of manifestly brilliant minds. Besides, one has an African country engulfed economic
~tveJ,oplment is . to know what the law is before one can postulate to free law of those limited fune-
and to view it as a conscious instrument what the law ought to be. But what seems so
social enginuring. obvious to me is that we do not need to dupli-
cate research in these fields. The area of law
Planning for Social Change and economic development is a relatively un-
chartered area to which intellectual explorers
engineering is basically the notion of may do better to tum their i.'ttention increasingly.
t't:n irleerin: or planning social life in a ration- How much research has been done in Ghana
way. due to the works of Roscoe to know the effect of legislations dealing with
'ound, the concept of social engineering through agricultural co·operatives. marketing boards,
has become popular in the jurisprudence. and state Carms? How many legal researchers in
:i'O~ of law. and political science of West. Ghana have gone beyond the question of des-t countries. With the socialist countries of cribing the land law of Ghana. ioto the more
and Asia. this is seen as an integral interesting (if more difficult) task Ilf evaluatirg UI'()pe
of the political philosopby itself. Tbe these legal norms from the viewpoint of its
" ~.itlbcr'in· away" of the state and law does not impact on the economy? How many have studied
come - if it COmes at all - uotil law and the relationship between land tenure and econo.
other instruments of social control have been mic size of farms? Do we know enough about
used affirmatively to usher in the age of public corporations - about legal forms that
abUndance. wiJl make them function as public corporations,
The function of law as social engineering can. and not as private companies playing possum?
,*,01 experimental ways of uslog law as a tool ~avc we begun to direct our attention to plan-
in planniog and realising social change. It is the nmg commissions. in order to demonstrate that
....,scious and purposeful use of law to allect economic planning is a multidisciplinary process
the behaviour of individuals and groups towards whose output may well be increased if lawyers
Ibc desired social goals, whatever these goals and other professionals were consulted more
are. aod however one frequently? determines what these are.
TIle emphasis is on the attributes, this concep- Legal academics need to remind themselves
tiaa of Ibc fcmction of law also becomes a constantly of the fact that there is a relation.
jn""'lMIt of rapid oncial c:banse. ship between legal institutions and the socia-
Sc>c.1 0,' or... tbrousb law is not simply ~mic .structure of a given society. Unless
of philoooph.... iDtercsl S~ what • this fact IS constantly borne in mind we are lJOCicty
""P" io bound to fritter away already Bearce 'resources - Ie C ~ also • 6mcIion of the entire
01 a.trai8tI jilipl»ld em that Ind badly DCCdcd intellectuaJ energy in mi.,
.. law dlt JD do .... + : tri. Rich pbdcd projects of law reform an~ Iow.priority oK! rncaa •
July 1970 1HE LEGON OBSERVER 13
that a complete halt should be made on Britain have considerably deteriorated. Visitors
further immigration into Britain - tran- to Britain now give evidence that even places
party boundaries. When he first artieu- which were originally weU noted for racial bar-
his teaching. expressing fears of a future mony have faUen to Powell. The new Home
flowing with the blood of racial strife. Secretary (Interior Minister), Mr. Reginald Maul-
was the working-class folk, not traditionally ding, is urbane, liberal (by Conservative stand-
with the Conservative Party. though ards) and moderate, and it is expected that he
conservatism, who openly rallied to his may be able to resist the "Keep Britain white"
torner. with open demonstrations in bis favour. extreme gospeUers. But, clearly. the Conservative
must be granted, though, that Powell was Party policy on immigration differs very little in
. officially by the Conservative Party, tone (although not exactly in its mechanics) from
from the shadow cabinet then , and has what the Powellite persuasion stands for. A
been condemned by some bisbops and further reduction in immigration quotas is to be
predictably expected in the few years ahead.
Race, then, was certainly an issue in the a situation which will undoubtedly in tum affect
Election, official protestations to the the image and position of Britain and the British
notwithstanding. And it would be in Afro-Asian-Caribbean countries.
to deny Powell's post-election state- On South Africa. Sir Alec Douglas-Homo-
that his teaching did a lot to ensure tbe the new Foreign Secretary - and his colleagues
of the Conservative Party. But one would have been all along unambiguous and less hypo-
to qualify this statement by saying that critical in their attitude. They are not avowed
ensured the victory of conservatism - with admirers of the Pretoria regime for what it
~nla letter c. stands for. it is true . But tbey believe. with a
How, then, will the coloured immigrants in logic which may not readily appeal to the un·
fare under the new order? Already, since initiated. that it is possible to dislike a regime's
enunciation or Powellism, race relations in socio-political structure, and at the same time
,
use apex
ball point pen ,
,. •
I July 1970 THE LEGON OBSERVER IS
problems of the MIddle Eat aDd such re-exami- Canal continue.
aalioD could well begiD by discarding that very The new series of raids cooducted by Israel
1A:nD. The vexed aod troubled area of North- against Egyptian military and industrial target!
East Africa aDd South-West Asia is only middle and even vil1ages. which began in 1969, have
to those who would have us see other parts of been sensational in their daring character. It is
the world as lar. It is essential that our thinking claimed that they are an attempt "to bring
be not a copy of theirs - but that is more home the message of the war to the commoo
:Asily said than done, tor the mass communica- people" 01 the United Arab Repubic. These
tions media of the world-books. journals and raids. which have included horrendous tragedies.
films and television coverage---emanate such as the bombing 01 EgyptiaD school child-
the main from committed parties. It is pertinent ren. have been most terrible: equally horrible
enquire whether on this third sad anniversary was the blowing up of a school bus by the
are fed by facts or cliches. by objective :e- Arabs. The sadness of human losses is doubt-
""tin,g or by clever but partisan persuasion. less very real. but meantime most visitors report
that Cairo continues on its way and. except for
Historical Continuity sandbags and the blackening of windows. seems /
on the surface oblivious or at least resigned to
After these three years. let us first pose the the war. But history can teach us that Egypt
- what have the Israelis achieved by has long existed and that tbe Egyptians have
military prowess and subsequent exploits? absorbed the shocks of many invasions. Al-
!::ertainly. they have maintained the survival of though Israel's annies are stronger, and her
Zionist State which three years ago seemed borders straighter than ever, she is sustaining
such mortal peril - that is a fact. But the Losses in military personnel larger in proportioD
impHcation tbat it bas thousands ot to her -population than American losses in
of historical continuity is but a claim to South-East Asia. The annexation of Jerusalem.
examined. the annexation of Gaza, the establishment or
The pirate-patch of General Moshe Dayan fortified Kibbutz; in occupied Jordan and on the
more particularly his military brilliance and Golan Heights are no nearer acceptance by the
have led to his becoming a folk Arabs - educated aDd uneducated alike. Among
of Israel and indeed of New York City. them are not a few who dearly hope for peace.
much of the United States of America. Mrs. Theirs are Dot the headlines. Yet today they
~~~~~ Meir, who was thought at first to be an must wonder just what options for peace remain.
~ Prime Minister. has also established her- •
strong figure in world politics and in Military InCUl'5iODS
:ro~,in. mythology of the Zionist State. She
It is strange that when the Algerians took up
firm control of her government and
"hard_line" against the Arabs is at once arms agamst the colons and lcgionares of France
they were described here in Africa as "resistance
to her own electorate and to Israel's
fighters" - not "terrorists" or even "guerillas".
abroad, chiefly in the United States and
Europe - but also in Africa. A recent Time Magazine describes the guerillas
as "ultra-militant" and speaks of 'hotbeds of
From what does Zionist sympathy stem in nationalism'. Earlier this week the B.B.C.
Is it perhaps because of the thorougb announced that current Israeli military incur-
in the Old Testament given to so sions into Syria were "to counter escalation"
by Christian missionaries? That can only and prevent the Syrians from "over· reaching
part of the truth. especially in countries with themselves". There is great danger in our being
many Muslim citizens. We cannot SO easily numbed by such phrases. But tbe moral issue
cultural bombardment by foreign infor- of Zionism apart, the existence of Isra!.":) js
media. What is the accuracy of tbe s)1lonymous with tbe displacement of almost an
from which we in Africa have bad to entire people - the Palestinian Arabs. This hal
our information? Three years ago it was parallels in colonial history. What therefore is
propbesised by most members of the being said when we reiterate that the Arabs
press tbat the President of tbe United must ··face reality"? Has the wind of cbange so
Republic could not long withstand the blown out that we in Africa do not pause with
of his Armies in that year's debacle. But an open. mind to enquire into the backgrouud
survives. aDd clashes across the Suez which has bred such determinatioo in
i July 1970 THE LEGON OBSERVER 17
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July 1970 THE LEGON OBSERVER 19
In 1874 the British Consulate estimated the behind the Jewish demands. Plans for the parti-
mber of Jews in JerusaJem at a mere 3.00~. tioning of Palestine were developed in America
:luding many destitute. many aged and many and were pushed hy her through the Un.ited
pilgrimage. Nations in 1947. Again biller fighting resulted.
Jceat changes followed close upon li~ c erner· Neither side asked for. or gave. any quarter. Like
lee of Zionism towards the end .of tile 19th Vietnam today, Jewisb immigration into Palestine
ntury and only then did the issue of Jewish became an American election issue and the
tlement really become political. Many refugees interests of the people living there became almost
·ived. fleeing from persecution in Imperial margmal. Soon the terminology, especially in
The Muslims cootinued to treat the Jews the western press, began to change - the Jewish
great hospitality and tolerance-an attitude immigrants were described as udefrnding" Jeru-
particularly typical of the world 11 that time salem from the "tyranny of infamous and impious
they were nevertheless increasingly oons- Arabs". Once the British mandate ended in 1948.
.of the many attempts to change tbe status the Jews attacked tbe city of Jerusalem, which
wailing place. By ~he outbreak of the First action led to the intervention of King AdduUah
~.l~ War the number of Jews in Palest:ne of Trans-Jordan. When the fighting subsided the
and in Jerusalem particularly had risen old city remained in the Jordaflian sector but
istantia the ambitions of Zionists to expand their terri-
Britain and the Jews tories further remained.
The Israeli 'frontier' was pushed forward on
story of how the Zionists obtained Brit~b the 5th of June. 1967. when Israel attacked the
~:: during that war is well known. The U.A.R., Jordan and Syria. The Ullited Nations
If declaration of 1917 pro mised lhe Zio- caned for a ceasefire-meantime Israel annoullced
"a national home in Palestine" i!l return the annexation of J e r u s a I e m . The
their support . But 'perfidious Albion' also United Nations resolved by a large
the Arabs independence in return for majori ty that Israel should withdraw
a,,(:e against the dying Ottoman empire which this claim and has since repealed its requests
allied with Imperial Germany. When the to no avail. Today, in the propaganda of Zion-
anny finally occupied Jerusalem, Arab ism, possession of the Western Wall is cClltral
P::;~'lS of the aims and intentions of the to the propaganda of Israel's expansion. Israel
Ir grew. Unrest mounted furtl:er when owes its legal existence to the United Nations yet
soldiers ignored a British ban on their no country bas been conderruted more often by
Jerusalem and particularly the wailing the Security Council and 00 country has ignored
alann ~rew almost to despair wheo, so many United Nations Resolutions. These are
the League of Nations alloted Britain a the brutal facts. Refugees from what .he Arab>
~~~:e over Palestine, the British saw fit to regard as twentieth century colonialism I emain
p the Zionist Sir Herbert Samuel as a major world problem.
first High Commissioner. The wall was
in,l We DOW know that technical breaks-through to most of the disputes which ensued.
in knowledge have been made in many different
small minority of Jew:;, in Jerusalem started parts of the world . They are not the permanent
complete control. It is now known that monopoly of any creed, race or peoples. We
Zionists publicly denied aims that they \\-ere know however that one of th~ main reasons for
same time representing in secret to the the success of the Israelis in tbe recent war was
Government. Struggles continued throu- technical superiority. However, neitht:r history
the 19205. Demonstrations were mounted oor social development is static and it could be
both parties. Violence oftm ensued. Arab that the Arab nationalists arc now demanding of
were greatly stimulated when Jewisb lUstory - and not just of the West and Dot just
increased rapidly in the 19,05. be· of Israel - the right to re·occupy a place they
of the rise to power of Nazi raCialists in feel is theirs . Whether or not we in Africa would
~1~~~IThe Arab> felt they might be coloni<t:d agree with that claim, we should endeavour :0
• by waves of immigrants-like the ensure that at least we hear it. For it may well be
of Australia and America b.ld been
three years after the war, that Israeli e.){l)ansion
them - and they rose irt revolt.
has already, or is abcut to over-extend itself ill
~:~~:~continued ror three yean>. Meantime
~ terms of territory and people overrun. And one Zionism grew stronger 1.nd Britain
lesson of oolonial history is that that has been
superseded by the United States as tbe power . ~do~n~e~b~clo~r~e ~ ____________~ _____________________
uly 1970 TIiE LEGaN OBSERVER 21
J evidence are against anti-demo.:ratic policies
oppression. and that it is to the interest
these powers to support movements for
:dcm from the fascism of Varster, Ian Smith
the Portuguese. The a1ternative, the leaders
the liberation movements threaten, could well What makes Signal
a turning to Russia for assistance.
lthcr detaa. on the agenda of the Rome so from
lference were being kept under wraps, but they
'C supposed to include the enormous prob· other toothpastesP
of legality in t!Je handling and transporta-
of the concrete facts of assistance: men,
. gronades, food. and the rest. Other forms
sistance sought appear to be very likely of
kind suggested above. All in all, so'ne
es. in freedom fighting in southern Africa
esparateJy needed.
Now Labour, Now Conservative
OST everyone in the Tory camp, especially
noble establishment the conservative press
rirain, is going to pretend to have forgotten i,
t Britain's,. situation was like for Labour
they took over in 1964 from 13 years of
servative government. The economy was not
on the rocks but slipping off them into the IT's THE
below; industrial and labour-government
tions were absolutely chaotic. if not danger-
• social morality and manners among the ,
g class were under a heavy cloud; and IN RED •
jai·in's standing among her western contem- Thi. VI ..I Element Glv. . You
ies had altogether rcached what the Ameri-
call "a new low". Strong Healthy Clean White Teeth
Pure Fresh Breath
est we forget, these are facts. abundantly Healthy Gums
meated in the whole of the established A Genn-frtle Mouth
t literature of those days. So much so that
other than Harold Wilson himself. then in ce
.\
ition. said of the then Tory govemmeat: ~J'OUR TtETH SIGNAL
that is clear is that every month. they are
. g to office without a mandate. To continue
eming weakens the authority of the country".
Harold Wilson, by O. E. Noel, p.9.) A I
or so before the election which has now
talled the Tories, it was possible for Mr. I
th to get back at Mr. Wilson and tum a
of the Labour leader against the joker him-
and to promise him a very long political . -,
day instead! Luckily for Mr. Heath he has
able to make his own laugh the last thiJ
. Such iJ the party game.
e who have adopted all the (orms and
onies of the British parliamentary system
Id be emulating it:. clear virtues (instead of
3 July 1910 THE LEGON OBSERVER 23
Arm·.......,. ADd Afrlcau History Acrr "0lIl 01 Trfbau..
SlR-I cannot make lout what Professor PosDansky StR-The Mimster of External Affairs b a member ot
me·D • by hi! remark that he has been quoted by me government for whom I had the greatest respect until
without aek.nowledgement (L.O. V/l2). the reccnt debate on the dismissal of the 568 public
AU extracu or quotations in the article in question officers. His a!lack on the Ewe ethnic group was quite
(L.O. V 110), including Professor Posnansky's were vituperative and did seem to have personal overtones.
either directly attributed to their authon or placed One of the redeeming features of ex-President Nkru-
in inverted commas. This was done to avoid cluttering mah's regime was that tribalism as it exists now was
the obviously limited apace of the Lea:on Oble"" with practically unheard of. No doubt this was a bia con-
elaborate footnotes. tribution to his appeal to the people. If this govern-
As for being quoted out of context, J think Professor ment is to be a better one then it must strive to traM-
Posnansky is entitled to his opinion, but it seems to cend all tribal animositie3, and must be seeo to be
me that be misunderstood the import of what he des- doing so. The first step towards doing this would be
cribes as my "main complaint" with regard to bis view 10 publish a list of the 568 persons dismissed, witb a
that "the study of Tropical Africa during the first brief explanation as to the reasons for their dismissal,
millennium AD" belongs to "pre-history" and should e.g:
therefore not be given "historical status". Mr. A inefficient, corrupt
Mr. 8 inefficient
At page six of his Inaugural Add:-t:ss he complained Mr. C not forward looking; etc,
about a "tendency for historians, particularly in the Surely this would be worth doing, if for no other
University of London, to ~card the study of tropical reason than that it would eliminate frcru people',
Africa during the first millennium AD as African his- minds the perhaps erroneous il!2 that one or two
tory rather than pre-history". He further stated ' same ethnic groups bad been victimised.
peae. same paracrapb) that "there i, probably more It is indeed ironiell that an ethnic rroup, one or
evidence" for the same period in Britain and American whose members played no small part in c-ating the
histories, and yet neither in American nor British his- free atmosphere of a parliament today, should be
tories are those periods accorded "historical statu.s". accused ot being "inward-look ina",
Whatever the nature of the historical evidence whicb P.O. 8CI. 1934 Meriiyu Cbarlel
exists for American and British histories of "the fi~t Ko. ..1
millennium AD" and ju,t how they become "probably
Irore" than what could be found in Africa for the
.arne period, are matters which T left without commenL
What 1 found curious however was the usc of the wof"fU GUlla" Unemployment ProblelD.!!J
'l'ropical Africa" as well, or rather in spite of Pro-
fessor Posnansky's "pica for treating the .luman past SIR I have read Mr. Gyinayeh's letter (L.O. V/12).
a.s a single unit rather than aeg1JlCnting it amongst and, while not pretending to know the cure for un-
different disciplines". employment in Ghana. I wish to comment as follows
"Africa South of the Sahara" i., in the present ~n Nobody would disagree with MT Gyinaych that we
text, the same as "rropical Africa". It i. also some- can solve our uncmployment problem tbrouah "the
times called "Sub-Saharan Africa" Thus there is the creation of more job opportunities" in the country
Inference that This is clearly self-evident. But one finds it hard to
there is an munerue difference between the bistol")' accept that the "immediate" solution toJ the problem
of "Africa South of the Sahara" and "Tropical It the encoura&ement of foreign investment Presum-
Africa" and that one sucb "immense difference" i~ ably this ..... ould be followed by the encouragement of .
that Africa North has a history and "Africa Sout"''' domestic investment as the final or long-run solution.
or "rropieal Africa" has until recent times (prc:'ium- Mr. Gyinaych's argument appears to be as follows:
ably until the colonial era) been outside the main We can create more jobs by establishing more factories.
!>tn:.am of human history, i c. it had no history. This ..... e cannot do ourselves; only foreign invc:s!on
The question whi..:h 1 &Sked was whether Professor can establish more factories in Gbana. Therefore, let
PosnansLy's "Tropical Africa" i. not the ~:une as say us encourage forcign inycstment. Also let us reduce the
Kingsnorth's "Africa South of the Sabara" and wbe1ber retirement age so as to create still more Jobs!
both are not the s.ame as Professor Roper's "Afriel", This latter suggestion is hardly a solution. All it
This ....s the !cosc in which I connected Prof~or means IS that the percentage of young people in our
Posnansky with tbe Trevor Roper School. total employment sbould be raised_ 1 find it difticult
Par 1 di.d not Lnow bow a plea for unity of lhe to ICe how such a measure can be con!irlered as an
human 1».-.... could be made in the same breath as a "immediate IDlulion" to Our unemployment problem
demand to "segment" the African put into '7ropical If it is a lon&-run solution. then it has to be sbown
and other Africans'·. I happen also to be of the view that youn, people in our work-force are more produc-
that the abo"'e demarcation and classification of Afri- tive. than the old.
ca and Africans aft: as arbitrary all the political parti-
With respect 10 the fif'l:t sclulion (i.e.. foreign invest-
tioninl of Africa which was a reflection of imperial
menU, Mr. Gyinayeh was quick to add :.hat we sbould
whims and need., and thmore did not necessarily be aware that there are certain attendant dangers. He
correspond to the actual realities.
neverthe:ea prefen it to private (and public) Ghanaian
.P...O..'. ... _ ............. _ .., w Im"'e3tment - for unstated rcuons. Wbat~er those reaJOr-S may be, it KChlS to me that it is
I July 1910 nm LEGON OBSERVER 25
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C. •• d. 1430 '1'0 '1%.00 123.00
July 1970 TIlE LEGON OBSERVER 17
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" '.III1IUf
WHEN ARE STRIKES LEGAL?
RKERS WHEN WORKERS decide to witbdraw their labour in tbe course of industrial disputes, they do so for a number of reasons.
Tbey may have genuinely experienced that tbe returns which
AND THE accrue to their labour do not adequately compensate ror their efforts. Or, they may bave discovered that the profits
which their productivity yields to their management are high
ECONOMY enough (or the workers to be entitled to a just share. Or,
again, strikes may be the result of the workers increasingly
finding difficulty to make ends meet. Wbatever tbe reasons,
. .. . I strikes tend to be resorted to when all other avenues for
arc Strikes IqaI7 redressing grievances have been explored. This is the ideal.
ECONOidY ... .. . . . . 2 In Gbana tbe roregoing reasons cannot be dismissed liglltly
and the Stimulation of by any serious student of the vagaries of cost of living in the
Ghana', Eco'''''Iy country. Nor, indeed, should one ignore the fact that the
A. N. Hakam right to withdraw one's labour is inalienable in meaningful
democracies. But this right becomes even more meaningful
. .. .. . . .. 4 only when there is a sensible collective bargaining system on
..., h Afric;:a-Backaround to Recent the labour market .
Political Trends As is well known, tbe productivity or tbe average Ghanaian
"KitOlb" worker is anything but enviable, although this is for a number
South Africa', Apartbeid- An of reasons some of which are extraneous to the worken. What
Invitation to a Bloodbatb is equaUy unenviable is the image-as well as the observable
J. Oppo ..· AaYare sense of serious conccm-of those who have taken upon
themselves the task of leading the workers in their struggle
IHIDNAnoNAL . .. .. . ., . 10 for fair conditions of service. Since 1958 when the Industrial
The Dilemma of lancl Relations Act was passed, trade unionism in this country
A Political Comspondalt b 1S become virtually moribcuanmd. and ineffectual. Immediately HOle on Japan, Africa. and arter tbis Act, the T.U.C. to be ...n as the industrial
Apatd>eid wing of the then ruling Convention Peoples' Party, and its
Alum Karitari leaders (some of whom became Ministers Plenipotentiary
and Ambassadors Extraordinary, while the workers had
NO• • -:JOK . . . .. . . . 1" become silenced) lived in sucb luxury tbat their selr.styled
balli,', Fioonclal Woes claim as champions of workers became a mere joke. Strikes.
Ont ContribulOn and CO ....p ond .... of course, became illegal, and preventive detention became
the governmental response.
pratip CoNtiousncst
Tbt Edinbuqb Qamn - Tbis Industrial Relations Act is still in rorce, and baa
undergone very little alteration since then. Strikes are still
LBiliJiS . . . . .. II' •• " . II' 16 illegal, in a way which workers regard as more oppressive
than meaningful. And the image of a trade union, as an
&3 alii aDd GM. . instrument which must be ali8lled with the governmont or
Slop" .... TribolWD the day, still remains.
o.ullopiq tbc Nordl This has given rise to mistrust in the T.U.C. leadersbip;
PIabIic Telepboae _ and tbe leaden probably now find themselves in a dilemma.
PIa. ., ct.. I!J:baonlin''Y At wbat time, ror instance, can they officially lead their
" .' • ... 01 fa'"UwIJ"" worken wben tbere is an industrial dispute?
.',g: .... [§ i" r. [lU &. ~; Ii" I· U: r s , iI!J i §t. [ §. ~p. _
..· 1:o.!s~ .&(Ci : ll~ iroS·u .. S- ;"S' .. 8c::9 A_· I: I!. If 11-.... > "" -'If .... _" ,,",,_Ii ,. "" Ii ~ go e-2' II ...2." i: -· .. 8 W~·
h Ii" 11" ... ~ =0: :: ~ Ifi g ill f "" ~ E a "" ~ h Ii po
.. . . i" ~t i!:li til __ .
... ~ -. _. I ill· _ .... PI . II. ~ . f ~ s
jll:I8'-
if rll ~
luly 1970 THE LEGON OBERVER 5
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, 25-5S- ......
17 July 1970 THE LEGON OBSERVER Q
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1970 THE LEGON OBSERVER II
of the area) have been inconsistent. petroleum (in billions of dollars) unrivalled by
paying lip service to Ibe resolution, wbicb any other porlioo of tbe globe. Now surely wilb
they interpret as total Israeli all that land and aU Ibat wealtb many times
first before recognition of the State that number of refugees could have been reset-
!be Egyptians bave also pledged total tled? In tbe past twenty Ibree years seveml
for the guerillas. The guerillas backed international attempts to settle tbe refugee issue
Syria. Iraq and tbe financial help of Saudi were fruitless because of Arab refusal to c0-
Jabia and Kuwai~ want nolbing less tban Ibe operate. Ooe attempt during U.S. President
destruction of Israel as a state. In sum. the Eisenhower's term of office envisaged massive
side has not so rar come with a {onnula expenditure to irrigate and develop tbe areas on
will allow Israel to exist. The closest botb sides of tbe Jordan River and. in the pro-
to Israel's existmce would be. according to cess. provide enough agricultural land to resettle
Fatah. a non·lsraeli state and they are tbe bulk of the refugees. This plan, tbough ap-
vague as to the proponioD of Arabs and proved by the Arab experts, was later rejected
living within it. by the Arab politicians. Israel herself absorbed
any solution to the Israeli- more than half a million Jewish-Arab refugees
woo because of the Israeli-Arab conflict bad
conflict must include a solution of Its
been forced to leave their countries. The refu-
Ltn,l issue of conflict, that is, the solution of
gee problem caD thus be viewed as a sort of an
Arab refugee problem. Israel has recently
exchange of Jewish and (loo-Jewish population
for an international conference that would
in the area.
~lulde the Great powers, the Arab States. Israel
the Palestinians to tackle this issue. Israeli Iscael's Options
international financial and technical assis-
Viewed [rom the Israeli side. what are the o~
would be provided to help resettle those
lions open for Israel to settle tbe conflict once
who are not already integrated. This and for all?
fought no reply from tbe Arab side. The Arabs
been using the refugees as a political issue. 1 Withdrawal from aU conquered territories
smce the first Israeli-Arab war of 1948. in the June War of 1967. Here withdrawal of
Israeli troops without a peace settlement would
Resettling Ibe Refugees
be suicidal for Israel in that the pre-1967 war
It must be remembered that the Arab govem- borders of Israel are hardly defensible against
of the time were partly responsible in modern Russian rocketry and loog range guns.
the refugee problem by caUing on them The previous border. it should be remembered.
the beginning of that war to move out of was strategically very favourable to tbe Arab>
,,"ish occupied areas of Palestine and to come Withdrawal would now expose Israeli cities such
later to their lands when Israel was con- as Jerusalem and Tel Aviv to Arab artillery. In
. Well. that time never came. They any case a unilateral Israeli withdrawal will not
i~~~ Israel in three wars and were defeated assure the acceptance of Israel as a state. The
JI times and the refugees are still there. Now Arab guerillas, and Syria and Iraq, for illstance.
!b'oc countries with refugee problems have been Dever atcepted the November 1967 Security
to resettle such refugees and to integrate Council resolution that relates the recognition
into their economies. Pakistan. India. of Israel's right to exist with tbe withdrawal from
Western Germany are a few of the conquered territories.
that within the post-World War If era Tbe implementation of the Security Council's
literally millions of refugees. resol~ti~n which is rather vague on many points.
On the other band Arab governments had and IS mterpreted in diferent ways by the Israelis
tbe refugees in camps and quite often and Ihe Egyptians will be very difficult. That is
. movements were restricted. For instance. why some kind of negotiation is needed. The
refugees that were encamped in tbe Gaza ~raeJi.s h~ve been calling for direct negotiation
wbich was under Egyptian administration. tn the behef tbat the conflict of the area has to
forbidden to travel to Egypt proper. It was be r"",lved by tbe belligerenlS themselves. The
that the total number of refugees was Arabs: have so far refused to sit together with
ODe million. Now Arabs have between israelIS for purposes of negotiation or on any
II ., area of land stretching from tbe Persian other matter. In recent times even the worst of
:iuIf 10 !be Atlantic ()ran. and inonme from enemies still resorted to negotiations. The Ame-
..,Im P Mug" em iDa LId., GhaM T"",1iIe LId., and die
A JIM h &JbIioa .... opcimjsm, Tema Te:aIiIe TrainiDa Ccatre.) fa 1965 tbe
a .... pop"olion bul limital SIIII}p Electrical Cut porltion was KlI up in
... eooaomic .,oW1h: it must import: Ghlm by an omalpmatioD of Japanese liIiIII
cl raw materiaIa to feed its in partn<nbip with the OboM JOmnuaenl.
It boa ....e fore ~ed trade
"willi'" mpay 1XIIm triea the world ova-. In February, 1970, a Japm. .. governmenl eco-
DOmiC and trade delegatiou toured some African
t.., r aIooe it Deeded about 48 !ODS of countries (visiting GhanI between the 20th and
III far iadUIIriaJ \lie. Domatic production 25th of that month) to "explo"" the poaibilitiea of
If'"'I'l 18 tons. 10 the JOverDlDCIlt had to strengthening international trade between Japan
Ibis by purch"ina additional gold and Ghana-and other African States"'. Ghana and
Britain aDd d' ~ where. As ia many count- othe'r0 s tates responded wen IIld participatal in the importation of JOId by iadividuals is "E '70", the superscale interutional trade
1: :- but the lleat "ernand for the "king fair still on in Osaka. And Etltiopia's Empea:or boa eqendered a tlourishing black Haile Selassie. in a speecb to mark Ethiopia·,
~ ....... the price of JOId is almost twice National Day at the Fair. invital Japanese
iIl_lional price for successful smugglers. "participation in large scale agricultural enter-
&pile of Japan'. large imports the balonce prises. in the building of dams for irrigation
I'lnode is in its favour. Its chemical iadustry and for generation of electricity, and in the
third in the world, in the production of expansion of mining and industry in Ethiopia".
chernial raw mau:rials for use in modern Japanese fishermen are found in the seas of
West Afria, as well as in East Africa (where
the Tanzanian government. however. rcc' utly
""'ports are mostly consumed by Asian deplored their activities. since they were alleged
....r ieI and by the United States: the U.S. to have been the main "culprits of ovcrfishing") ,
takes about one-third of the total. In
-=~ Growlllg In,esln EI f. on almost every major road is now to
I'K II the swift Datsun cars, solely distributed Japan's investments in Africa are growing
Moton (Ghana) Ltd., which bu an fast. Recently a Japanese consortium of about
plant at Tema. By 1964 Japan had twenty firms. the Overseas Uranium Resources
the world for eight consecutive years. since Development Corporation. signed an agreement
by Ialmching 4,205.000 tons in shi.,. with the JOvemmeRl of Niger and the FYench
Atomic Energy Commission to develop Uranium
hr' I ip 18 AfrIca deposits in the Republic. i
1a.-'. alii........ is shown by the rising wage Japan is rich and looks like one of the few
of "'" per..,...t a year since 1960. Average nations whose economic aid to deve10ping count-
Pme per person was 690 dollars and 830 ries bas few (or not any) strings auached to iL
in 1965 and 1968 respectively. Since It also seems to he less involved in international
the G..,. Natimll Product bu risen at I ..... that hamper progressive interutional trade.
~ a...... rate of 10% yearly (141,900 dollars But there is ODe major problem lbout the
its G.N.P. ranks third. only alter country that threatens its poaceful trade with
and Russia. Africa in the future. This is Japan's CCODomic , relations with racist South Africa and Rhodesia .
Japenese IOvernmeot bas in rocenl times
Like many developed countries, it prof. ....
the Dced to utili.,. part of the Dation's
abhorrence of South Africa's and Rhodesia',
u aid to Africa. fa 1961 the Afrian
cl was e&tabIisbed racist policies. Aod it baa righdy been asserted Japan to promote
1Mi"'. " that OIIIy by ocoaomic sanctioas and boycotts 'I"net.. betwOCD African people can some - Ii., be Imocted into the heads 01 14 pt'G¥Jlina aDd '"istina eooao-
ill Aflu". these udI-rocists. But Japan's trade with the ....... UI
0p"ea"k..i lraDt COImb ita is ID cucouragement of the of ... aid. It'IIII All. en cnmb'n, 'ion pwctiaed by the non-Europeans in
." Ka". aed CjbeM. are 11 ~. II thoae parts of Arlica.
••1 (fa n... nalll know thai what they
al 01.- flow die two p-hal are the results of
•
17
te1epbcIJ in a
_. . ,. .... ,s _ pubUc: boJ olUibril fuJi. . " ....,. ttIId _yn iiDCiS 1!tCJ'. 11 abouId DOl be a Jawry to odto Ia our --. ... sbopo. aUpcxto, ola. ......... aDd lCIp _ .....
M. ltaB. W. DC 1beR is ..... oj", l"'bIit: _10 Iho ..- 01 I _.
and other ..b urbI in aDd II'OIIDd tile c:i1y are DO eN :epCicJa
The situatioa calls for imnvdi·te lCtioD.
P.O._ ..
DS b 7 5t ... Nuo .. Ac:aa.
Editorial: "NmonaI Development and Rcaional
(LA V/I3) ............I io& roocIina DO' so
the IoIic in your "'.mCht but for the way in
.,..JIhl to RICUC the IO'MDmalt out of the 51 ..- 1 wish to inform tho .uthorities, or the perIOD wbo
"hicb tbo Ionp• •. , of I.... OfFAl. . invited Mr. Bob Arno, the world widely kDown pick-
100111 the 1D'fCI'''''lMt'. attitude towards Ibrahim pocket, that his visit to Ghana was not DOCa,.ry ... aU.
JnOtion caIlina upoo the JO'o'U ..m ent to draw
j;dill At present, there arc • lot of ...,.,'h. around who an aaz)eratcd P«$amiOC \0 dcfClop the North doiol bad enough thin., to the innocent pubtK:, and the
up with the others of the country's rqions.
,pW,'. police are dolol their best to prevent Ibn evil doiDp:. Mr. Nah motion bad a batmIas intention. Now, if we are tryins to outlaw crimiDaI ac:ts rrom our
M.,tjtcy', '''''''''n''l should even ~ve been beloved country. why should W'C a, the ... .".. lime iovile
ac:cq:ubk. But stran8ely enough the suc:h a character to visit us and demonstrate bit nil skills
in the Proarcu Party ao. .. crp· to us 7 I care little about the points he raised in the Dro,
Ibould ba~ inspired the aovernment to accept G. .p bk, because these were lOinJ to be read by bodI
motioo. did DOC; do 10. aood and bod people.
pity &bat men who haw: carDed so much respect I am SUR some films arc prohibited from beiDa shown
for their ability aDd rMturc attitude towards in our cinema halls because the spcclaton do not pin any.
iuucs tbouId today exhibit such teodenclcs durioa thinS from them except evil thoudn!. tr this is the ease,
lint porliamaIl of tbo Secood Republic. why should the Bob Amqs come bere to waneD tbjnpt
DOt ID)SClf' inter"catcd in penooalibcs. My only We must aU bear in Jbind that by his demOOltraUom our
"oiisl to remind the new JOvcmmc:nt that the mare "BUys" may learn eyen worse thinas. IUdI stranp personal feelings the more they
dU6artlt to defend themselves tomorrow, and PO.. Sol ( 57 I 2 W. . t .. -r-
they late the sympathy of lhose who, in spite Aa:ra
valid ran about them. still felt that they are the
of mea who could be <:ounted upon to rule more M...... Cbe ()I f. Uu.eIJ"
that Dr. Busia and his coUequc:s would wish SII\ • I read, with proround interest, of your rourtb anni-
U. opportunity to do a radical self-examination versary in your last issue; this is very remarkable. Your
COOIC_ncc and open • new chapter in the OC)C.t
or style or wrilin. and the way you compile articles is abo porliamaIt. That would do them • lot of &DOd. commendable. Pau on your dbows. I have copies of aU
your ilsues, which I am keepinS as "kocpsak.e".
S. M. Sibido_ I would also like to sugat that you "brilll in" c:oIour
(AI: abo$} photo;rapm to make your articles "more lively."
I'" A I h pc L
P.O. _ 567
Ae<n.
EMtor', Note: 1bc Sn. .....t loa i.a tbr: last para.
P "k 'Ii' II IF Ba..,:le papb is DOted with ttaenh!
01 the matt JIarinI dcCcctivc aspectt at our J;om-
..; i) 1 Ii is tbc C:oIlIllhtc lack of pubUt tdcphooe
ia our citll • towns aod ¥in., s. By any modut ....... JaI, 15
lbeae 11'1 DO .....e tbaD fi .... or six public booths
die Acc:n.. TemI mUDkip.tity Nearly aU or C4I • For MPi .. Nad I e Os.t
till ..i n poet 011 • aad arc frequm·
tI or1 • WIleN a 1»0 iii ia ......... CODdition the A ooe·'fo'IICk coune for Members of tbr: Natioaal Auem-
till ........ lob ~ pat. . 'X Won the d PiAl bly was today ope. at Mensah Sarbab HaD. UniYCflity
_wu, ......,". 1bie it a deplonble of Ghana. Lcaon. The coune which is beiaa orpniscd by
wtwa. h • I 1llrrh. .... CJOe Lleid the Institute of Adult Edtalion in 00Qjuncti0a with Ibc
s 1 oftk:e 01 the Min.au of St_ lor Padiameatary Affain
.... l£&iaa .. , ' ••, ,'O.W • II ... aDd_ thve a0 6. lwembIy will be II' 1 UA. Be • ill 1M deale, III CJq:JeCted CO djen,s ......... odw ParUameowy .. I 9 7 £, .. a ,ubl= pre aDd Ibe l'Ia"'" I
.. k Cl11 , III ee 51 ... GIIDIIJ' '" It is; ex; m1 ........ ft. tile 'I dcr of
'hit. "III" ....... ... tt. UW C ". i ........ J die de. .. M.o oic.", 01 Iho ...
"It '" ... ..,. migp . t .. _
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e .II'
oL V No. i6 31 July-13 August 1970 Price: 15DP
II/rlllAL
" r." II'"~ CRUMBLING AIUANCES
EARLY last week. the British Conservative government of
KWAME Mr. Edward Heath ..,nouneed its long expected. but less surprising. intention to supply arms of 3 selccted nature
to South Africa. As Sir Alec Douglas-Home told the HouS!
NKRUMAH of Commons: "we should be ready to consider within that context ... applications for the export to South Africa of
certain limited categories of anns, w long as they are for
ceRE· VIS IT ED" maritime defence directly related to the security of the sea routes."
The contest which Sir Alec has in mind is. of course. th~
provision of the Simonstown agreement wbich ensures "fre:
1 passage of ships in all circumstances on tbe vital sea routes
round southern Africa." And, in an attempt to assuage the
~~~:~A~lliances
~ growing. and legitimate. fears of the (mainly African and RELATIONS 2
Asian) anti-apartheid group of the Commonwealth of Na-
~k .. a.nd Industrial Harmony tions. Sir Alec has offered an explanation which can be said
SetbTwum to be appealing to only the South Africa lobby in Britain.
9 and to no one else. Said the fonner, fourteenth Earl of
Trainin, of Local Council Staff Home: "In no circumstances would there be sales to South
in Ghana Africa of anns for the enforcement of apartheid or universal
A. T. K. Nanor repression." Presumably after the sale of arms to South
.. Africa. a special British commission would be pellilanently 10
stationed in Pretoria to supervise tbe use to which Britisb
~'Ih Africa-Back,round to Recent
Political Trends - 2 anns would be put. But, surely. whose intelligence is Britain
insulting?
Kitolb
If this decision bas been taken in order t('l counteract the
• • • 12 fear of Soviet naval penetration into the lndiau Ocean. th~n
in Latin-American one thinks that Britain is miserably mistaken. Strategic
Politia studies have shown that the Indian Oceall h no longer
E. Ofori-Akyca significant for Soviet maritime power; furthennore. Soviet
NOTEBOOK 16 naval strength presently is virtually at par with that of the
~b.t.na'" Economy and her Minerals United States. The Russians are already in the Mediterra.
nean waters; and they are also very powerful in the Atlar1tic,
Industry which used to be a U.S. monopoly. Where does Britain stand,
u ..... and Politcnea in the event of a modem naval oonfrontation?
~rnm,'n., ..1 1h Gam. . Rcsulu The defence of Britain is, of course, a basically British
REVIEWS ... I" problem; and their assessment of their defence needs, on
~"''''. Nkrumab. The Anatomy of whatever bases the assessment is done, should essentiallv
an African Oictatonbip be a British affair. But Britain is no Jongtr an island in
Reviewed by Max Allimenl isolation. It is in this respect that her decision should be
considered alongside that country's relations with other
Sedar SenJhor and the
nations in tbe world .
Politics of Ntarirude
Altbough Britain is no longer the centre ,,( the universe.
Reviewed by Yaw Sa6u as elementary school textbooks used to ma.k.e her.
• 22 still a. formidable country whose decisions c;houJd reverr,era!~
and me Economy beyond the confines of that little island which she occupie\.
and Ghana', Economy She is a power of sorts, and a significant member of the
1'HB J
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IHBU!GON .: •.; :.' 5
INSIl1'U'I'E OF ADULT EDUCATION
(tr.IftnIIy of
ADMISSION TO CO-URS-E-S--l9-7O-/-71- A- -C-ADEMIC SESSION
AppIica ..... aM invited flow .... ndid.tes for admission 10 the foD<lWiDg oounos
cwpnjPEd by the Institute:
(I) GeDeral Certificate of Education (GCE OL & AL).
(b) A One-Year Special GCE Revision Course for ex·Secondary Sdlool students.
(c) Professional Courses leading 10 Final Certificates of recogoimd professional b0-
dies. The.. include ac;:ounbog and secretarial oourses.
(d) Teacher Training Certifi. ...t e 'A' Courses.
(e) LibeJaI Studies Courses aimed at broadening general educational background of
ItUdents. (Non-examinable. but Certificates of Attendance are awarded).
(I) Depee Courses of University of Ghana take. extcmaUy. (A few v ..... ncies exist
for normaDy qUllified studenlS. Admission for "Mature StudenlS" bas already bee"
conducted ODd prospective candidates in this category need not 3pply).
The. . Courses aM designed for adults who would like 10 improve upon their edu-
catlm. Tuition is elfaed on a part-time basis at the Institute's Workers' Colleges ODd at
-m centres tbroughout !be oountry. The External Degree Clou .... a",. bow. ..... elfer-
ed at !be Accra Workers' College only.
ENTRY QUALIFICATIONS
(a) For the GCE OL Courses .... ndi~ates must hold at least !be Middle School Leaving
Certificate and must 1"'''' a screening test. For !be GCE AL Courses candidates
must have passed the OL Examination or its equivaJcot in at least four subjects
including Englisb Language.
(b) Candidates for !be Special Revision Course must have attendeid a secondary
scbool for at least four years and. in addition. will he required 10 pass a screer>-
ing test.
(c) For the Professional Courses, candidates must bave passed the p",liminary exami-
nation of the particular professional budy or bave been exempted therefrom and
registered as students 01 that budy.
(d) Candidates for !be Teachers' Cert. 'A' Course must bold the Teacbers' Cert. 'D'
Certificate.
(e) For the Liberal Studies Courses DO formal educational requirements are laid
down except that students must bave a working knowledge of the Englisb Lan-
guage.
(I) Candidates for "External" degrees of the University of Ghana must satisfy the
DOrmaJ entry requirements of the Univasity.
PEES
(a) Ne2.oo per subject per y<ar
(b) Ne4.oo per subject per year
(e) Nel S.OO per year
(d) NelS.oo per year
(e) Nel.oo per year. or paid-up membership of the People's Educational AS'OCiation.
(I) Ne30.oo per year
An enrolmoit fee of Nel .oo is payable on aD IAE Courses. except for (E) and (F) .
above.
APPLICATIONS
following add""es of !be Institute
Box M.1I4. Accra; Sckoadi/Tako-
Kumasi Workers' Collcge. P.O. Box
Tamale. Central Regional Office.
497. Kotu.idua; Volta
Box 83. Bolgatanga;
enquiria p. ..... tcJe..
D1ka:'10R
•
July 1970 THE LEGON OBSERVER 7
•
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Ifill THE U!OON OBSERVER 9
dm1llistratlon they "ere less capable because of their lack of education. The present local council employees
(majority) arc no exception. It wiII .be Dc:ce"sary
11IE TRAJNlNG OF LOCAL COUNCIL to make a clean sweep and to start 3galD. The
SlAW highest rank, senior officials running really large IN GHANA
towns (who need of course to be most carefully
By selected), must clearly ha"e full professional
A. T. K. Nonor qualifications. At the next level. for urban or
is of more ceotra1 importance in Gbana middle sized towns and rural districts, profes-
the lraining of local couocil employees. sional qualifications in the strict sense are per-
It will be evident that there arc many prob- haps not necessary; but a genera.) edUc:a~OD
wbich await solution before the new local is certainly necessary. and a special trammg.
councils can play Ibeir full role in perhaps of a year's duration, should certainly
CCOIlOmiC development of Ghana. These arc be required. but some means must be found ~~r
both in importance and difficulty: ensuring Ibat Ibey are not merely honest and dili-
and staffing. Though Ibe finance whicb is gent. with aD elementary education in their own
to many councils is woefully meagre. . language and knowledge of English, but also that
are others where the willingness of repee- they have some knowledge of the outside world .
councils to tax their people is almost Since the aim is to amalgamate the local couo-
embarrassment. This may be due to total cils with the civil service, where facilities {or
of the legislation, or to misapprehen- training will be available throughout so that one
of its effect. Unless the money is well spent can enter at the lowest level and equip himself •
1U. payers cannot be expected to continue for promotion to the highest post. it should now
/teir willingness to contribute; but it will not be necessary to regard local government work
well spent unless the staff to organize the as a professional career.
and organize it efficiently. is there.
The problem of staffing is at its most difficult Coones for ColDlrillon
Ghana. but it is by no means only in Ghana
it arises. There is need. in each of these My discussion so far has been concerned with
lases, for morc able persons to be attracted into the training of local government staff - the
local government service: but for that, better new indigenous staff. I may, however. conclude
manw.,o..u kl be required. The inadequacy of local with a reference 10 a couple of questions of thus sets up a vicious circle. ill-paid training whicb faD outside the field. When things
doing a poor job; but even with the avail- go wrong with new councils, it is generally the '
personnel, better work could be done if case that members of the councils are more at
were more training. fault than the officers. It is therefore a question
whether some training should not be provided
SoIe<tI g tile SCaJI for cot.:.nciUors also. In the United Kingdom a
new councilJor who takes his duties s...~iously.
In Ghana. the problem of staffing is oompli- will endeavour to equip himself for the job: he
by the attitude of top administrators who reads books on local government; he may attend
lrained personnel (from Ibe School of cI:l.SS~ or courses arranged by the various
to responsible positions (Clerks Associat ions of Local Councils. or by the Work-
Council and Treasurers). For example. to ers' Educational Association.
""" but the least - a typist who has aC'quir-
the requisite training comes back to the In Ghana, Ibe Centre for Civic Education
pool for an indefinite period. I bave would be the best instituion in this endeavour.
my unremitting opposition to Ibe Training is necessary for elected members and
and my deto min.tion to sec it liquidated few cbiefs and others who may be on the council
Clay paaible mans But this does not end 4.t officio: indeed it may be even more necessary
allD. There is • second point to consider. for Ibe latter. since tbcir standard of education
Name was is often luwer, and they may be less familiar the Authority system Ibere
(-"'tin&. with the outside world !ban are Ibose who seek d," 1M' or any procedure _bGoIt. . popular election. The idea is to get such coun. "t alters. Many of
.. NaIhw Autl staff were 01 cillo.. to load government lraining schools for .. it} pJOi qu.lity:
sborI naidcatiaJ """'- 10 that Ibey can study
•
31 July 1970 TIlE LEGON OBSERVER I I
•
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II July 1970 THE LEGON OBSERVER 15
Starting in business or industry?
Already established and expanding?
awaits
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MR EMMANUEL N. HORTEr 1$ th.! MalliJger o( the Kimberley Ai'''"..,,, branch of 8drclaY$ B.Jnk, ill Accr.l. '" the
cour$e 0( h,s carHr wtlh 8.Jrc/ays, erfcnding Oi' ... r {ifl~n yu, $, he hu worked III many capacities
.Ind in nine different blanches of the bank. Mr. Norley h.u thrf'r. limes bffn to the Unfled Klllgdom on Ilallllng
courses and holds the Inslilul~ of &nAf'rs Associate Diploma which he gained In 1963 With distinction III
the uw Relating to ~nltlng. He was [olnJr.rly Man~~, of Knutsford "benul', Accra, branch,
When Mr, Nortey we/c~s customers mto hiS office they can be sure that they will get the $(lulldest ball/cJng ~'IJce.
baCAed by hiS \A.ide CJl~flt'nce, and all the seri'ke$ that BiJrcl.J¥$ ca" offer.
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your clisposaL With ita progre88i.vo outlook ... ita wide
experience of b,mking in Ghana" , itH connections with the City ot Londo'll.
and the whole world ... ita network of more than 60 branches throuJ:hout Ghana, BaroIaya
can a."';et YOll in eo ma.ny ways. And always in the epirit of helpful servioe.
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~31_J_w~y_I_~ _____________T_H_ E_ _L_B G_O_ N ~O=~==R~VB~R~ ________________~ 17
.. glorious day. three silver and two bronze; with Mike Ahoy fail·
However, this is the time that !'Oliticians and ex· ing to win anything. and so on.
oerts alike. "'" supposed to be more guarded and Obviously we stand in need of beller, longer
dopt an attitude of cautious ')rl.unism and be training. more coachjng, superior physical facilities
oore level beaded. The minerals industry is so indoors and out, and everything else nCC<lSS8ry
omplex that it will be unwise to make premature for the development of excellence in sporL It is
latements which would only serve to oonfound true that even with provision and availability of
IIUCS. Let us give the geologists and the drillers all these factors of success we cannot expect to
chance to prove the extent of minerals that can go higher tban our size as a country would make
c economically extracted. poSSIble. We pointed this out before. But neither
In the meantime, we appeal ro th~ Government can we predict or predetermine our limitatiom
come out with a morc comprehensive minerals before we have really extended our human r~
in anticipation of the great ecoo.omic actl- sources to the full, so that there is in fact a cer·
all the discoveries may hring to Ghana. tain degree of maxjmal achievement we can rea·
sonably anticipate in the future, given favourablo
Nwws ud PoUte-. conditions and $trenuoUi effort. After all. we have
our remarkable record of past performana: in
TENTH annual meeting of the Gbana Regis- aocccr to cite again and again
Nurses' Association was opened by the
riulC Minister this week. Dr. Busia's exhorta· Australia, EngJand and Canada will presum.
to the nation, that locally trained nurses ably always run away with the most laurels in aU
doctors should be held in eq,ual esteem as these Commonwealth meeta. And for obvioUJ
who arc umadc-in_therc" is welcome. reasons. The analogy is with the Olympic Games
it had been assumed that a Durse where. for the identical reasom, those world
~~e better qua,li.6ed only it she had been giants, the U.S.A. and the U.S.S.R., will equally
~ abroad. certainly continue to capture the greatest Dum~
her of the prizes available. That il not to take
But. surely, there is another point to this? anything away from the English or the Austra.
who have visited hospitals in Europe lians; there are games in which, even on a global
America will bear testimony to the diligence. competition basis. they excel and will continue
~ of duty and politeness of nurses in those often to do so. For instance in cricket, football.
10 Ghana, on the other hand. a patient tennis and swimming.
""',. surprise when be finds a nurse who
the qualities we have mentioned above. Also, we have pointed out that even in the
case of the smaller countries. notably New Zeal.
and. the isJand communities of the West Indies.
It SCCIIl5 that. like SO many professions in Norway, and others, outstanding athletic ability
people have entered into nursing with·
is far from being conspicuously absent; it has in
reading the life history of Florence Nigbtin.
fact been conspicuously present,. to such a degree
The desire to get a job. rather than to as to record some of the worJd's finest perfor~
/hold the ideals of the nursiog profession, has manccs ever: Puvo Nurmi in long distance run.
the predominant motive. This is wby we Ding; Constantine and (currently) Gary Sobers in
that during their current conference.
~,aiJUl cricket, to mention only two from Norway and nurses sbould come to grips with what
the West Indies. So there is still hope for a coun.
wider public has been thinking about them.
try like Gbana. not merely to resume its leading
after all. bow much does it cost 10 be place in soccer. for instance. but even to go on
to great achievement in other games and in athle-
tica as 'uch.
Meanwhile. we bave to commend our returned
Issessment of Gbanl'S chances in the 9th Commonwealth Games team for what they
Games was not far off the mark: achieved (or us. In particular. 00 praise would
bright, but 00 a minor scale . . Our be too much (or gallant little Alice Anum, who
Abeyo aod S. K . AIloteys . . . no longer practically out of nothing from past perfonnaocc
~l'1Dm at their pi evious peak standards . .." pulled off two silver medals. This promising young
Well, lllat is exactly what happened. We got lady will get very far for Ghana, if carefully nur.
JOId moIah (to Australia's 37. for instance!). tured as an athlete.
n July 1970 THE LEGON OBSERVER 19
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July 1~70 THE LEGON OBSERVER 21
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August 1970 THE LEGON OBSERVER 7
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it with nothing but pride, dishonesty, envy, cate the public against tribalism. and in schools.
animosity-all of which can lead to our children must be taught that the ~Iing of
joeial, economic and political destruction. tribal superiority leads to nothing but national
is into this destructive "flame" that Africa disaster.
been plunged. Our continent is too much At home the oral tradition is passed on to the
tribally and tribal feelings are too strong child as to how powerful hIS ancestors were in
us. There is disunity among us, there is the past. He is told of their wars of conquest
in justice in our midst, and we are at a and their subjugation of all the neighbouring
of being devastated by this deadly flame. tribes. At school, this is corroborated by the
<uvu and Lua clashes in Kenya after the mur- history teacher. and from then the "tribal flame"
of Tom Mboya in the middle of last year. is lighted in him. He is now filled with pride, he
~"'''Iy plunged the country into a civil war; Ni- recognises those of his own tribe. and he starts
is recuperating from the blast of a tribal holding all others in contempt.
"',or;, and In Ghana. the "tribal flame" iii; fast
What about the child from the despised tribe?
away the bond that holds us
His is hatred. animosity, and envy towards the
other. He hates listening to the boastfulness of
This poses a threat to our national and conti- the other; the other's contemptuous utterances
1>,:nl:.1 development. and it is not surprising that make his gorge rise. and he grows up sworn
politician. out of an uneasiness of mind. has never to make friends from among the other's
that we eliminate the word "tribe" tribe. With the creation of this situation comes
official use. and. in effect. abolish the exis· disunity. which yields to tribal grouping. Under
1l0l1ce of tribes. mild conditions the war is a cold one-exchang-
ing insults, abuses. curses, insulting remarks. and
Sprea~ing "Tribal Flames" practising the much hated vices of nepotism and
favouritism. Then if this situation is not arrest-
This will certainly be a very difficult exercise. ed. things flare up. and the war turns hot. And
not an impossible one. We cannot possibly abo· the result turns to be national disaster!
lish the use of, or the existence of tribes. Our
tribes are identified through our languages. Influence of History
customs and practices; and even our names.
though not always. in most cases reflect our This is what our schOOl children and our
tribes. It now becomes clear that once we keep parents are to be made aware of. No tribe is
our languages, customs, names. etc., tribes can superior to the other. Each I tribe has the poten-
never cease to exist; and since these traditional tiality of achieving what the other has achieved.
set·ups cannot possibly be abolished without It is all a matter of history-what happened in
worsening the situation, we cannot successfully the past-and nothing else.
abolish the existence of tribes. The fact that one's tribe built a vast empire
The need, however. stm remains for some. long. long ago, does not make one's tribe the
thing to be done about the spreading "tribal greatest in this century. We still read of the
flame". It is good flame which overlaps the Ro~an ,Empire. but today Rome is only a
bounds of its goodness once we fail to keep tight capital city; and haly in which Rome is situated
rein on it; and since e:tperience has proved we cannot boast of being superior to Britain. which
are unequal to the task of keeping it under can. was once part of the Roman empire. Not very
tro!. all we are left with is to kill it. But how do long. ago--nol after 1971. to be precise-the
we go about with this. f'i the idea of abolishing RUSSIans could be said to belong to the world's
the existence of tribes is to be ruled out? communi~y of backward peoples. But today. who
dares pomt a finger at a Soviet, telling him
To tackle this in Ghana. people have prescrib.
cd a number of remedies. It is suggested that "You are backward?" What, if he replies with a missile?
the ~arious government departments cease asking
candIdates for employment to indicate their So that is how history goes. A tribe may be
lribes. and thar school children be made to less developed today. but this situation does not
learn a language other than their mother tongues. condemn it to an everlasting backwardness. We
~ese m~st try to understand the ways of life of Our To may be added olhers. The 'Ministry
of Socull Welfare must intensify drive to edu- ~elghbours, learn their difficulties. and help them its
If we can, or sympathise with them jf we cannot
J 4 August 1970 THE LEGON OBSERVER
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August 1970 THE LEGON OBSERVER u
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..... 1970 TIlE LEGON OBSERVER IS
lOrD sancticned by law in our country? cious suggestions. abuse and slander. and In sow-
lCCtion of the press. however. is not heavily ing the seeds of tribalism.
IIDC. In fact one is often surprised by the The scantiness of information now available
lIine and good taste displayed in ,;omc of about ~uch great Nigerian talents as Wale Soyinka
journals: one can hardly find in them any and Chinua Achebc must be enough to teach our
~ biting animosity (hat is all too common in preachers of tribalism the lesson that nati~al con-
5, and happily, no wildness or indecency. flict could impose on themselves. as writers. grave
is true that eVfl1 in some of those writers mental and emotional strain.
whom one deeply disagrees, onc can perceive Our writers should take the advice. The people
- fine art and the gift for using words. cannot be fooled all the time. We have secn clearly
ey waste their talents. for their writings and how the Adankos and the politicians who had
os can be appreciated only today but not gagged the Press had in the long run had their
\lowing day. actions accounted for. Education has increased
Ileed not be surprised, and the Ghanaian and every writer now has to address himself to
list ought not be incensed. if his professional intelligent citizens. men and women of critical
m is here being called in question and rc- and disccming minds.
ned. or even if he is accused of having be- We are happy to note that our new Minister of
a powerful agency that produces the tribal Information has already assured the publil.: that
ousness in this oountry. It includes such the government would maicllain the free(L'm of
as offensive references to tribal Jroups, re- the Press. But as already stated. even in a demo-
endations for the removal of qualified public cracy we have to watch for fear of interference
s from their posts (no doubt on Lribal by some dim-witted public officiaL;. by the pres-
ds). and the SOOrtl of institutions and tradi- sure of a foolish law. or by the unauthorised acti-
sacred to certain communities. Virtue. merit vity of private organisaliC'n ....
very thing th.lt is praiseworthy arc nade the The free Press should check all undue secrecy
t of ridicule aald buffoonery. and scandalous misuse of power. We expect the
Integrated Society uncensored free Press to combat ignorance. intem-
perance. excessive drinking and law-breaking and
s state of affairs is unfortunate. The plcsence to awaken interest in scientific, philosophical and
Zongos in indigenous communities. our tra- historical questions in the minds of young Ghana-
al hospitality. the cordial discussions of our ians. And finally we should all Idrain from usmg
Ie cIders in the pito and palm-wine places. words in which we ourselves do not believe,
ur longstanding inter-marriage which cuts
tribal boundaries portray the ideal life set
e Ghanaian culture for itself as a dosely
ted and fri<:lionless ooe. We have not been 1n ternational
or bred by careless parents.
BRITAr.-i'S CE:'o<TRAL posmON WITHIN
Akan. the Ewe. the Ga. the Northerner. all THE \1t·LTI·RACIAL CO\IMONWEALTH
welded together as onc unit. will increasingly
to the newspapers that are printed i~ the by K A. Karikari
of Accra and Kumasi for the story of Iheir PLA1~LY the situation in Southern Africa has
on interests and about their nalional insti-
had a major impact on the Commonwealth. but
s such as the wholesale stores. the libraries,
in analysing the crisis there is a danger of isolat-
useums. and the llniversities 1110~t of which
ing it and thereby distorting its importaoce.
ntred in the twO cities. South Africa and lately Rhodesia have confron-
~"gh the proceedings 01 the Commissions 01 ,
ted the Commonwealth with unique challenges .
• the political campaign. the com,lIuction
cabinet. the inauguration of the Pre~;dential but that is not aU. In a sense. southern Africa has
civilian government. sharpened. and speeded up developments which issiof1, and the the press
on were inherent in the Commonwealth of the 1960's. actively the job watching every move.
j:as Of late. J\.fr. Victor ()y..·usu. Ghana's Foreign living in remote Alavanyo. KoHkrom or
would Minister has said in public that. if Britain re-therefore c'\pect the Press to keep
infOililed and they 'Would be greatly disap- sumed the sale of arms t9 South Africa. Britain
if in$tead the press engaged in nothing but· may be expelled from the COJl1,nonwealth. Can
of tbeir in$titutions, jokes at whatever is the African memlJers of t,he Commonwealth
, man,bater theories, a blend ot mend.· reaDy expel Britain from that body" I believe, one
17
THE LEGON OBSERVER
14 August 1970
nothing more but a sham. calculated to promote
They bave rightly insisted that Britain has no the interests of Britain and some of the older
right to dictate to them but they bave valued members of the club. Today, tbe Commonwealth
what Britain bas been prepared to offer. ties mean very little to the Asian and the Afri·
After aU is said and done, the Commonwealth can members. On the contrary, in its changing
ties and idealism have now become evaporated. role it has confirmed the old nostalgia of the
The new Asian and African states have looked older members. Thus we find these days that the
tu the Commonwealth as the only multi-racilil wire between London and Ottawa. or between
community where their interests could be pursue~1 Melbourne and London is more cordial and
They had hoped that with Britain as the moth!.:T confident than say between Accra and London
country. they might take consolation in their or for that matter between Lagos and London.
posture of military weakness and economic under-
The solution to the situation in southern Afri·
development. and use the Commonwealth as an
umbrella to pursue and promote their world wide ca within the framework of the Commonwealth
interests. is not just to attempt the impossible of expelling
But with British hypocrisy coupled with her Britain. but a real demonstration of the newer
cold attitude towards the new nations in their members of the Commonwealth to confront
unwelcomcd adventures m southern Afnca Britain-even at the expense of the Common·
and southern Asia, the new members have come
to realise that the multi· racial Commonwealth is wealth breaking up as a multi·racial community.
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THE LEGON OBSERVER
August 1970
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.ugust 1970 THE LEGON OBSERVER
Middle East: Peace Prospects of research on the subject.
Concerning the present work, if I may be so bold
s reassuring to note that both Egypt and as to appear boastful, there is much material of econo-
~1 have accepted the new United States mic, legal, sociological and political significance to
)()sa1 for a united ceasefire. and eventual Ghana worthy of the consideration of tbe Obsuvers
readen that could have been analysed and criticised
:e talks. to avert a possible imminent serious for my own benefit as well as for that of tbe readers,
osion of the Middle East conflict. besides the "st ri ctures" that I present. To devote
nee the 1967 June war, which resulted in about 1,280 words telling us next to nothing about
Israeli occupation of tracts of Arab territory. the contents of the book. is nothing sbort of under-
:e has not been known in that part of the estimating the intelligence of the readenhip of the
Observer or lack of a sense of the needs of Gbana
at the moment.
e split in the ranks of the Palestinian guer·
on the feasibility of the Rogers plan is My own objective for writing the book was not
to offer "strictures" for Ghanaians. As a matter of
rlunate. but understandable. If any peaceful fact, the title of the review could more appropriately
ernent emerges from the current mission of have been "Ghana Revisited" To think that I intend-
ant's special envoy Gunnar Jarring. the ed to wnte only about Nkrumah is to miss the point
that can be expected is that Israel might of the book completely. So that my criticism of the
to withdraw from all the territories she judiciary and of the legal machinery which Mr. Assi-
meng would \ik.e his readers to think Mr. Justice
pied in 1967, except perhaps the Jordanian Ollennu does not share in his Forno.·ord is quite mis-
r of Jerusalem. That will, however, not be undentood Excellent brains are meant to be used
end to the problem which is basic to the not preserved What Max A~simeng wanfed to know
tinians. most of whom believe that the very about my association with Nkrumah or how the
'tory which is Israel should change hands material was collected and analyzed could have been
ascertained from me personally if he had been more
us. while Egypt and Israel are willing. than superficially interested in the task he had under-
ough with reservations. to come to terms taken in reviewing the book. The reviewers of The
one another, it is hoped that the Palestinian Piolleer, the Grap/lic and the GltanwtJIl Times were
gee problem will have top priority considera- both quick to get the main point which I was making
in any eventual peace proposals. With which is that Ghana and Ghanaians made Nkrumah
what he became The cove r jacket of the paper-back
erica and Russia now operating with a rare edition (there are both American and British edition!>
nsus of interest. this may well be the in cloth bound which the reviewer failed to mention)
ld's last chance to avert a future Middle makes this point amply dear. The task. of cour~e,
-t violence the perimeters of which will not was easier because of the personality characteristiC!!
easy to plot. of Nkrumah him~lf f challenge Mr Assimeng to
come up with contrary evidence
Mpracso T. Peter Omari
etters Kwabu
'10ral Corruption in Ghana
KW1IIme l'luumah Re\ lsited SIR One thing startling we learnt about the cx-Presi-
I have reluctantly undertaken to comment dent and his "Animal Farm" was about their numerous
n a review of my book, K ...· am~ NkrumaJl not girl friends and how our money was lavished on them_
use T am particularly interested in favourable E\'en more serious than Ihis, Nkrumah himself as head
iews or that 1 want to court cheap publicity J of state was alleged to have had a 16-year-old student
te about a book which the general Ghanaian public girl friend at Achimota School.
already accepted with acclaim judging by the fact No doubt Ghanaians are now watching with an eagle's
t the first local edition of S.OOO copies was sold eye to buttress any of such "moves" by any government
three weck'i after publication. and before the review that is, or may come to power
question appeared I would like to write in the
rest of 'icholar;hlp_ I failed to o;ce the point of And it is in the like mind that I dolT my hat for the
re\;ew in question appearir.g in the ugon Obsa~'f'r Busia government on the relentless effort now being
waged against bribery. corruption. immorality, lack of
t6).
o begin with. Max A'lSlmeng. the rC\-iewer, Intra-- foresight in admini~trat\On. etc. But let Dr. Busia and
ctS me to his reade~ a'S the author of a "useful his colleagues know that corruption, or whatever it is.
humorous book Marriagt: Guidanct: lor Young IS corruption and there ~hould be no sentimentality
ancac7u" This book puhli!l.hed in 1%2 which became about that.
standard gift to ncwly-wedi, which quickly sold out Therefore I humbly admoni~h the present go\-emmenl
d has I;!cen out of print for lOme time now. was to look out! If it wants faithfully to ~tamp out bribe!)',
very xrjous work. To c:"lll it ''humorous'' is either corruption, immoralit)' (any kind) then the total war
fC\'eal Mr. AuimCflg's igl'lorn.nce of the contents again~t these ",ees must slart from the government it~elf.
that bool or hiS inability to n~'lS the work of Commonwealth Hall Sammy Hroobs
obnhip; for it repn:5Cnl~d the re .. uh of five yean LegoD
11E 23
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Or...,n of tile Leao!! Soc:;ety on "'.t'onal AIt.in
28 1970 -
"SUE
mE PLIGHT OF POVERTY
BUSIA'S THE long·aowaited first budget of the Busia administration is now out. And, as the Minister of Finance began to reveal
his economic remedies to the nation, one discerned the
FIRST poignant accuracy of the maxim that the poverty of the poor is the greate~t barrier tf) their becoming rich. The bitter
disappointment of the government over the latest debt
BUDGET rescheduling meeting in Lendon obviously showed in th::-content of the financial proposals, which, to say the least.
had very litt le room for manoeuvre.
For a government which is committed to honouring
I an inherited, huge international indebtedness (some of which
Plight of Poverty is of a clearly spurious nature), it was difficult to see how
it could r.::concile the desire to generate private economic ex-
ECONOMY 2 pansion at home with the large-scale governmental expendi-
of the BudKet ture, especially on rural development. The government did
not promise any magical solution to our problems; indeed
realism of the budget was academically flawless. But in
PROBLEMS 4 .'.c . end, one saw very little in the budget that was reassuring
and Opportunity to the poor. It had been assumed that the tax structure
Peil would be rearranged during this financial year. But the
budget said very little on this, beyond assuring Ghanaians
6
that the whole tax system is being studied.
Second World rood Congress:
Report The attempt to help the small businessman and the pros-
orori Akyea
pective farmer by way of loan schemes is laudable, but
NOTEBOOK ,0 who. in the final analysis. qualifies for such loans? It has
Cold IS Budget Fever? been found that, as a matter of fact, those who obtain these
Elections
of Oak in Britain loans are persons who are already economically self-
sustaining. As for the drive to get men in the public services .
13 to undertake farming, it would be interesting to see how l
or living: Ghana and Sicn1l Leone many persons ha\'e actually taken advantage of the opportu-
In.', Tax Structure nity. And how does the government reconcile the desire to 1'1
Ino'o Privileged Few
Military Promotions enoourage Ghanaian enterprise with the new gamble of plac-
. Afrir. and the Constitution (2) ing very many commodity items on an open general licence? I
Dependence on Cocoa.
In.', Rur.ai Roads The crux of the problem. as the government has realts-
Quality of Teacher; ed. is the huge drift of Ghanaians from the rural areas to
Party Discipline thc urban centres. The budgct is, in fact, rural development
with Parcels • I
Among the OCI'IY:(.1 oriented. presumably because it has been found that the high
Must be Frequent co..,t of living. especially 30; r(flected in the current price
index on ordinary domestic budgeting. is due to the low
18 yield of food production In the country. Ghanaians have
·'K.ko" Budlet come to d.;pcnd on foreign aid so much that it has nzver
Kontopi3!lt oc(urred to most of them that a nation's development must
Return of Kwadwo Kontopiaat
t w.,,", Kontopiaat b..: undert:lkcn on the basis of local initiative.
August 1970 TIlE LEGON OBSERVER
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! August 1970 THE LEGON OBSERVER
we households. There have always been rela- doors.
vely few ,J orthern Ghanaians in Asbiaman. as Ashiaman has been laid out carefully. with
l Tema. roads at regular interals. but little has been done
to make the roads useable. Some earth has re-
Ashiar;13n is 4-5 miles from Tcma. Several large cently been dumped in the worst holes to make
rms trmsport their workers by bus, but large the entry roads passable, but many of the cross-
umbers are dependent on lorries, for which they roads fade into footpaths and arc interrupted by
lust pay 50p each way. Those who cannot afford ditches crossed only by board bridges. Culverts
le Jorry fare (which includes aU the unemploy- installed two years a~o have silted up, or tbe
d) must walk. Municipal buses come about once earth has eroded around them.
hour, which make~ them of little use to work-
s. On a recent evening. over 90 lorries and The Tema City Council collects ground rents '
mpany buses arrived (rom Tema and 30 came monthly on all the plots. The many kiosks are
om Accra between 5: 15 p.m. and 6.15 p.rn.- taxed monthly and all residents must pay their
a lorry park which is crowded when it con- rates to the Council. It is difficult to see where
ins 20 lorries. Over 1100 walkers were count- this money is being spent to better the town. The
between 5.45 and 7.45 one morning. This main government services in evidence are the
ives some idea of the magnitude of Ashiaman's school and the police. and both of these appear
atribution to the Tcma labour force. to be inadequate.
In 1%8. about three quarters of the men were l\o Places for Pupils
oing manual work and 14% were unemployed.
wo thirds of the \,,"omen over the age 2S were Ashiaman is the largest town in Ghana with- \
ading. Unemployment seems to be lower now out a middle school. There was some talk: jof
han in 1968, perhaps bec3use many men who building one last year, but like so many other
uld not find work have returned home. How- possible improvements. all the townspeople got
ver, many others are engaged in small· scale were excuses. Although there are well over a
ading and the number of self-employed crafts- thousand children of middle school age in
en. especially carpenters and tailors. is very large Ashiaman. only 180 made the daily trip to 1ema
or a town this size. Quite a few of these would Community 8 (2-3 miles away) to attend middle
better off financially if they could find regu- schooL The two primary schools in Ashiaman
wage employment. Meanwhile, they provide hold less than 100 pupils, a third of whom are
pool of experienced labour which is available on the shift system. Many prospective pupils
henever it is needed in Tema. cannot find places. There are three private
primary schools where parents must pay up to
NCI.20 per month to keep their wards from
illiteracy. These children are growing up in
There are a fcw fine cement houses in Ashia- to",n and will certainly seck urban jobs in a few
man; three or four even have garages. The majo- years time. As things are now. many will Jack
rity of houses furni!-h 'average' urban accommo- even the basic requirement for work in Tema.
dation. But there are a large number of houses. a Middle School Leaving Certificate.
especially in the older sections on both sides of Ashiaman is noted for its thieves, and there
the entry road. wbich were built some years ago have been some spectacular roundups in recent
of packing cases and tin sheets. These are gra- years. Residents have long complained that the
dually disintegrating. and provide very poor homes police were inadequate to protect them from
for their many occupants. They are a terrible thieves, but the situation seems to be better, now
eyesore. magnified by the complete lack of that many of the less desireable aliens have left
drainage. Pools of fetid water in many areas However. there still seem to be quite a few
make wa1kin~ between houses almost impossible.
Ghanaian thieves in residence.
These puddles. with their smells, flies, mosqui-
toes. etc. remain throughout the dry season. They It was announced recently that the Kotobaabi
provide the playground (and possible deathtrap pig fanners are to move to Ashiaman. It is to be
from the disea_ they foster) for the thousands hoped that the residents of the town who allow
of children in AJhiaman. When it rains. whole their pigs to wander around defiling the paths
sections of the community tum to mud. Worken can be persuaded or required to join the associa. .
IIII1It 10k. of! their shoes and wade to Iheir tiOD and keep their pigs in proper pens. Sanita-
'a1l ........ _
......... i.I II:_.. ....... .........
- or paJ 2ICUP .J.II.'. ............ 01 .... & ... sns..
........ 01
.~u., n
*& ••• .. , ~
._..... .•. . "h"a1td.l,e. .
n.a .... , 1Iat1 - rs M .IIfIOId'"
r ''' ... 1 bl~.-e.,,, d,l WQQM
JaIl ., Te • Ic'c.* &"2. .lI.u t biN my AI "". wi! Wp _ .... 1M wiB ....1 12 ....." "91•
...... III ....... t'"
.......... 1& If .. a-M.,
.sid 1t51 , iIid 1>1 h", do SIll( I • III ....
os., ..... .... au" .......
~ ........ a·' S... ou •
. Iiccd Ia tIcIt .. III oppIIil' Mr. I h
1t_.I'& ..........
....... .,we..,. •.
197U THE LEGON OBSERVER
7
r.• e ,-
",
......... ..
.. .. ,-
",
,-
,/
.:.:.:.:.: ,- ~
.,.
p -
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INDUSTRIAL HOLDING PHONE: 2628
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18 August 1970 THE LEGON OBSER VER I I
Starting in business or industry?
Already established and expanding ?
awaitsyou
at
Barclays
Bank
.... MISS.'l.AYERH <>
MISS VICTORIA AYERH Is a Foreign Exchange Cashier al Barcl,ys Bank High
Street branch, in Accra. She JOined Barclays over eight years ago, starting as :J clerk
when she was nineteen, and now holds her present specialised job of dealing with
elch,nge'ransactions. Victoria's fallourite sport is netbafl, and .she likes ,eading
(or Ie/au/ion.
Miss Aye/h welcomes customers ...,lIh Foreign Exchange buslnus 10 transact. and
whether it in'lo/v(!s Sterling, V·Marks or DoII.,s, 'fines, Kroner or Puet.s-
they find she has the necessary knowledge and v.ill at her {lngerl/ps.
,\'hcUwr YOlu'uusiness is large or many ways. And always in the spirit of
~m.all. tho comprehensive facilities of helpful service.
BarclaYtI are at yOul' disposal. Current Accounts, Deposit Accounts,
\\""ith its progressive outlook ... its Savings Accounts, Standing Orders,
wide experience ofb..1.nking in Ghana ... Foreign Exchange, Bills anel
its connections with the City of London Documentary Credits, Money Transfers,
and tho whole ,,,,'"orld ... its network of Travellers' Cheques, Business Advice,
more thnn tiO branches throughout Status Reports, Investment Advice .
Ghana. Barclays can assi~t ~'Oll in so Insurance Arrangements.
BARCLAYS BANK
13
... 1970 THE LEGON OBSERVER
30 and 50 pesewas a pound; the best fillets go for not
pra!tIy the experiCD"" of Ac:cra Hearts of much more than 55-60Np per p<:lond. I found fruits
in their even more reccf1t soccer trip. was and vegetables a mixed bag of high and low prices which
Ii:osIy worse. Probably the desire to be in either approximate the Accra quo:ations or else even
in to do some: shopping. rather than to cn~ out with them ir. the aggrcgat~. But provisions anJ
in serious competition, cannot be dismissed cooking oils arc extremely cheaper in Freetown: what
can you not do with red or while cooking oil at IS
the motives of these tours, which, accord-
to 20Np a beer boUle?
D popular views, tend to be more prestigious Imported men 's clothing and bmnd-name articles in
productive. ladi es' wcar seem to offer little difference between
Ie current charges and counter-charges Freetown and Accra, but for some reason beyond mv
1St players, directors and executives of the economic grasp imported shoes arc vastly cheaper in
Freetown .. All in all. Sierra Leone lives infinitely
are unfortunate. although these usually more cheaply than Ghana.
e when scapegoats are sought to account Me Editor, it needs no proclamation from me to
llective disaster. inform the Ghanaian people that the Busia govemment
plain fact is that, the next time a Ghana- is not rcspon~ihle for the phantasmagoria of Ghana's
cer team-whatever its supposed local cost of Ji\ing stati~tics. nor. evcn more, for the cost
of indi\idual items of major importance like cars, in
ony-tours any part of Europe. the contin- our country. And w~ are not naive enough to think
should be exposed to :)()me serious. pre-tour that co'>t of li\ ing can e\er be d ..a ~tically reduced. per-
res on such topics as comparative soccer haps anywhere. But I for one ne. .- d (a) to be reminded
ani. living conditions in foreign countries. how and why the pre\ iou~ regimes raised the priccs
nal climatic conditions, the geographical of cars. fridges. etc., to the heights we now bitterly
experience; (b) to be told whether the taxes by which
of those nations. the social relations of their this was done ha .... e really had and are still having a
and perhaps some aptitude test m those rchabilitathe efTect on the eeonetny; and (c) to be
gIl countries' languages. also told whether our cost of living need rise at the
d. for goodness sake. there should be some stupefying rate it docs.
of unanimity in the clubs' camps about the London, N.W, 1 K. A. B . loon-Quartey
d'etre of such tours!
Ghana's Tu Structure
SIR --Many Ghanaians ha\'c eltpressed serious reser-
etters vations about the rising taxes. The nation's talC struc· ture, they maintain, stunts any realistic economic growth.
Thc average sala ried worker is S:J.ddled with so many
taxcS that hc spends an inordinate number of man-hours
Cost 01 Lh'illl: Chaua aad Sierra Leooe figuring out opportunities to grow wealthy overnight,
EHn if related to wage and salary structule Thus, the smuggling. embezzlement, bribery and carrul>
rentials between the two C(lU,llri:.-s. prices in Fre~ tion.
would still be a dream of heaven to Ghanaians For foreign and Indigenou'l bu!ine'lsmen. an obtusel,
these prices are com~rcd with OUf'i in Accra high taltation di<;torts decisions about how to invest.
umasi. Admittedly wages and salaric\ are higher how to organi~e a company and how to reward em-
hana than in Sierra leone, but the differences eer- ployees. This is euctly why the Business Promotion
y do not run like J: I for Ininistcf'i. teachers or Act affC(;:led many alien busines"men who. bec3Ulile of
ren. Yet that is the. range I)f differences in prices high taxation rates, declared their assets below their
...' " Accra and Freetown for rru.:.ny cs\Cntial commo- true value.
s and \'ital items of use. At tbe extreme, I think our taltation policies thwart
y first lalt; driver when I ann-cd in Freetown :1 important national Boals, because, the impact of Ulte5
weeks ago was my initial informant on some I)f helps to perpetuate social ills that the nation is strug-
cost items. Take his vcry vchide. a ~panking new gling hard to crase. Our Luation system is widening
geot 404". (For some rc:as(ln \\hich mu~t be quite the already deep lulf between rich and poor, landlord
but which I failed ignominiously to enquire and tenant, worker and the bourgeois entrepreneur. Let
• the vast majority of taxis ill this city arc brand- us hope: that this year'" budget and subst.quent ones
t or very nearly 10, at the moment). His "404", the will grudgingly but gradually anest this disturbing
told me, CO!It him about Le 2,600 to put on the anomaly,
A Leone is IOl- Merling. or Nc1.22t. so that a P.O. .... Ie Xi. . (),alo
• cc*l. in Siena Leone only about NC3.200 (matinl
for enon). The Hillnun de IWle and Japa-
M .... typc:t ranac between NC2,400 and NC2.6S0
tHo • little. live a little, How much do thuc: can E'. PII"'''I. Few
ill Acaa7 You, Mr. Editor. would know better SIR-That our dear but poor count!) is saddJ.:d with &
)CUlI' I .....
".to hu&~ d~bt u too well known a fact yet constant referenc.: ..... ..... DID" he';" tbinp? for u..- to It II made accc 'ary by our behaviour, It is nOI
ta .... ' 01 our iael:pcrt w-t • (as to ~ IW'prisina that the T.U.C. boss. Mr. B. A. Benlum is
~. .... ,--o),~ .,iMIY _t is .-cbaed oat at bet. • worried over Ibit NeaUIe the lituation i. really dish;"r-
15
'ugust 1970 THE LEGON OBSERVER
•
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refreshing milk dnnk, but as II body·building
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TIIE LEGON OBSERVER 17 ,ugust 1970
a useful solution to this mess.
ed by many responsible Ghanaians is that although should try to find Kofi Mprah
ling etrectiveneu depends upon the level of inlet- Wesllandse1\'t:g 2
ice of the teacher, a 'o'er)' intelligent teacher would Delft
give of his best while working in poor conditio~s Holland
crvicc. with the sort of indifference shown to hiS
y problems by the government. Corruplion Amone the C1eru
nally, I would hke to bring to the notice of the SIR-J bave a few ob~rvations to make on the scandal
ourable M.P_ that Ghanaian teachers are doing of those Presbyterian ministers of religion in the
. best in spite of their long bours of work in tem- Ashanti Region, an issue on which an Accra daily gave: -
ry and dilapidated classrooms, and of making a rather mild editorial. ,./
1~I\'cs familiar with a thousand and one text-books
mmendcd today but changed tomorrow . A human bcing as I am, I will not pipe mad at the
. Convent Mid. Girls' SdI. J. H Kodza Fiafor moral implications of the case but J will at least point
Bos 20 out to these highly re\·crcd mcmbers of the society
that by their action. thcy have lowered the morale of
members of thcir church and have driven away would-
00 Party Di5dplloc be members; for. how can one lead another when the
leader and the led are equally blind?
Writing UDder the heading "M P's & Party Disci- Donnas. Secondary School Ernest Osei
in the Slar (Accra) of 18th July. 1970 onc Law- Dormaa·Ahenkro (8 ..\)
Khan stated among olh!:f things that it amount .. -----
bcllious demcanour for a go\cmmcnt party mcm;'cr
te against any motion introduced by the govem- Filnl Shows must be Frequent
Much as I agree with him that parliamentarians SIR The acti\itics of the Cinema Division of the Mi-
ld be schooled in certain aspects of parliamentary ni ~IT}' of Information seem to be declining as far as film
ess J disagree entirely with him on the view e:t- shows to the gencral public are concerned.
:d concerning the ri~ht of gO\'cmmcnt MPs to hold
Cinema \·ans arc often ~ccn plYing daily on the streets
ry views on motions.
of the various regional headquarters but hardly does
is, T am afraid, smacks of party dogmatism. Il one .;cc a public show
11y sounds too alarming to read sucb an artide
a paper owned by a govcrnment party whose Tours to ccrtain towns and villages take place at two
for observance or dcmocratic principles bas reacbed ycarly intervals. As for Boamang, my own village, In
nook and comer of the country, Ashanti, the last time the Ministry of Information
is quite unncce~s.ar)' to say that onc's party slocan showed a film to the people was in 1965.
ld be "My party, right nr wrong", T am su re the But why this state of affairs? Taking shortage of
r of the said article will agrce with me that we vans as an excuse. I think every region at the moment
in an era where onc docs tbings according to the poSSCs9C~ at lca~t four or si:t vans which can offer film
tes of his conscience. To say that one should shows at lca~t thrice a ycar.
ys follow the party line is to deprive nne of the Thcre arc variou~ acti .. itics which . when films nre
ty to think for one's self provided to the public. will be of educational intcrest
is an undoubted fact that any man With the slighlest \iz. communal labour in progress. litcracy work. family
tn commonsenJe !i\es by some principle and w: planning. Parliament In sessIon. and a host of others.
now that pnnciple cannot be \3.crificed for exp.:.. The Dlfc.,;tor (If the Cinema On Ision o;hould find out
cy. the l:ausc, <,f thl~ lapse 10 the operations, and take
Sf: No. CAllS. K.. Oduro Dtnk:11 sleps to lmpr\wC the ~ituation.
r.---ka. A«ra ------- POBox 9 Josepb C.yinayeh W~ncbi, B \
Tampering with Parcel~
I posted a gifl parccl. 1'0. ~65. wei~hing ju~t a
mer two pounds at the Rottcrdam Po"t Officc.
e ...... ethcrlands on lIth April. 1970 by ordinal"}
I to a cousin. Mr. J K. Owusu. a scnior civil SCT\ant
c Tamalc Rcgional Oflkc.
e total cost price of the article amounted to 71 Are you on
ch Guildors. 90 ccnts (£8 J, 4d) pnstagc 5 Dutch
Idc". ~o ccnt, (I:!s. 1dl.
wrotc a leiter to my cousin a wc\:k later , In which
ted all the item'!. posted to him, our su bscri ption
Saturday. 11th July IQ70. I rccei\c..-d a leth:r fr{lm
Informing me that he hll~k dclin:1"} of the parcel
6th June, IQ70. without t ..... o items; namely, a .... hite
lct and a pant "hich cost 4'!. 7d .• and two sets of
e .. ' foundation which emt £1 ~ M. All werc list ?
ht at reduction ~Ie.. rtll'; act 1\ becoming
pant social c.,.i1. "hlch could constitute a ~how
on the department c,'ncernc:d, The authoriti~ -
August 1970 TIlE LEGON OBSERVER 19
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Augwt 1970 THE LEGaN OBSERVER 21
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•
August 1970 THE LEGON OBSERVER
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TIlE LEGON OBSERVER 23A1J8IISl19'lO
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~1. V No. 19 11-24 September 1970
Price: 15np
EolTIJRIALI
, TNI. ISSI E
THE POLICE AND COURTESY
THE POLICE A COUPLE of weeks ago the Prime Minister bad the occasion to address some senior officials of the Ministry of Interior
over some of the images which they have consciously or
AND SOCIETY unconsciously carved for themselves from the wider public. We are interested in the way the Premier's exhortation sank
down to. particularly. those senior officers of our police
service who attended this class.
1
For some time now, the police in our society have been
Police and Courtesy looked upon as a bullying, ever threatening organisation.
~riculn".1 Mechanisation an Ghana? Visitors to other countries find the police as a pitied and
helped organisation, In Ghana. on the other hand. the police
ECONOMY 4 are despised. and their efforts in the maintenance of peace
~'""" Economic Prospects are often thwarted by citizens. Why? This was the case
Kodwo Ewusi when we were under colonial authority, and when every
8 maltreatment by police was legitimized under the guise of
"the white man says". Under Kwame Nkrumah and the
Green Revolution tn India c.P.P. regime, too, the work of a section of the police-
14 tormenting innocent citizens in the name of state security
- is well-known. People were hurled into detention cells,
the Top Incapacitated?
A. Trebla allegedly on the orders of the deposed dictator, when, in
fact. some policemen merely wished to settle their own
fUAAL PROBLEMS IS inter-personal scores. In fact. some of the cells became
trot.len" or Rural Development detention camps on the orders of policemen.
E . Ofon Akyea
Unfortunately this attitude of the police has not changed,
~fltV1~ NO'YEIIOOK 19 although one would have thOUght that the Busia dispensa-
Plight of importers tion would give rise to a new type of a policeman. We are
[b:.~,!Prime Minister's Motorcades aware of the honest and forthright X-ray of the police
~ own Priorities structure by the new Inspector General of Police. And we
is Left of Non-Alicnment? are also aware of the efforts of some policemen - nameless,
anonymous. silent, but bard working - who want the police
" 21 to forge ahead with a new sense of duty.
But Mr. Yakubu. trying as he is to infuse a healthy atti-
tude into his organisational crucible. would perhaps be
22 interested in some of the epi50des which have been happen-
Revisited ing in the country recently.
Kontopiaat The following incident is typical. On Saturday, August
29. 1970. the Progress Party. as Part of its first delegates'
IN OUR NEXT ISSUE conference deliberations, held a rally at the Liberation Circle
in Accra. To aU intenls and purposes a political party rally
BUSIA'S FIRST ANNIVERSARY is meant to be attended by citizens and interested parties,
oa Basill'. AdmildstJ'adoa whether these are for, or against, the party in question. It is
KWllmt Afre.b. Max Am ...... Kwame at a political rally that politicians. elected to carry the bur.
~::~k Kwu.t S-.oaa. Fin HesKt
~ Allyn. _lid KONTOPlAAT_ _ 1ftU dens of a nation, come face to face with the people. And
the police - who should certainly be less conspicuous in
numbers and in action than the political dramaJis personae
ember 1970 THE LEGON OBSERVER 3
•
•
you can enjoy the
idE)rtlul goodness of
FANKISS in your
flavour. Choose IT~
you like best- A/6W
Chocolate.
Iwlbel'rv. Caramel . fRCM
or Banana. FAil.'
~ad FANKISS on your
or biscuits - or eat
kai from the pack.
Plain is just right
tea or coffee.
dairy food
FAN.
supren Ie 100 reshrnent
1970 THE LEGON OBSERVER )
at SaJtpond and still being prospected (onnation is available on the output per man
l~i:~coaSlaJ towns such as Apam. will usher in
cngageJ in agriculture. Rough estimates tend.
of unprecedented industrial boom. Real however. to indicate that the level of productivity
National Product is therefore projected to in agriculture in J 965 stagnated at its 1960 level
to N¢772 million between 1970 and 1975. at We cannot there;ore help but reiterate tbe hack-
rate 01 5.0%. The projected growth neyed ca ll for measures to increase productivity
of 5.0% for the 1970-75 period is definitely in this important sector of the economy.
than double the 2.4% real growth of the
period. but it is not beyond the potential Cocoa remains the mainstay of the economy. It
economy. Between 1957 and 1962, when accounted for 22.0% of agricuhural production
economy was performing quite satisfactorily. and 8.5% of Gross Domestic Product in ] 968.
output increased at an average annual rate It is Ghana's main foreign-exchange earner, pro-
viding 62.6% of total export-earnings in 1968.
Fiscal and financial irresponsibility apart. the most
National Family Plat'~ing campaign will potent factor that contributed to the eco-
another soothing effect on the economy. nomic malaise of the 1960's was the precipitous
t,~'~~,~n to the 1970 Popu, ...,t~on Census the po-
t fall in the world price of cocoa. The country can of Ghana actually r~~.: from 6.7 million therefore ill-afford to Ignore this industry. There
Q60 to 8.5 million in 1970. thus yielding a rate are some who argue ~trongly for the diversification
per annum. Sho'!'~1 the government's of export commodities. ]t is, for instance, believed
for planned family prove successful. in certain circles that Ghana failcd to rcap the
population increase C:''' be c~pectcd to drop full benefits of the 1967 devaluation because in-
2.2% per annum by 1 'ii. With the projected sufficient attention was paid to the other small
annual increase if1 real GNP. this will imply export crops. Be this as it may, unless a second
real per capita incom: will increase by 2.R% ca~h crop or non-agricultural export has been
ann um and will thus reach N¢293 (1968 price~) successfully developed. the cocoa industry still
1975. deserves the pride of place in all our plws.
Structurnj Changes Unwarranted Pessimism
In •• in:.:reascd economic activity will be accom- After reaching an all-time high of 557 thousand
by structural changes. Indmtrial produc· tons 10 1964;65. the production of cocoa in the
and Services wi ll increase their share of last rour years (1965 ,66- 1968'69) declined to 382
toss Domestic Product. While the manufacturing thousand tons. 107c down from the average of the
accounted for 2.3% in 1961. its share in first four years of the 1960·s. This downturn in
rose to 7.6~ in 1968. It is e'<pccted that by production was in contrast with upward shift in
its share will rise to 10.4t'1,.. The services production in other African countries where there
i~ similarly increasing its share in national was 21'1e increase in output. The low price of
t. and it is expected that by 1975 it will cocoa during the early sixties, reaching a disas-
for 47,3% of GDP. compared to 45 .7f'1'{' trous low of Nrt280 per ton in 1965. created an
I Q68. Although the agricultural sector is losing unwarranted pessimism for the industry This led.
prcpcC1derant share in GOP. it continues to be to public neglect of the irldustry. and. even worse.
main bulwark of the economy. lack of inputs for the industry. The supply of
spray material was sharply reduced to as little
Total agricultural production. defined here to
as 70 thousand gallons of gammalin in 1965. com-
coooa production. subsistence agricultural
pared to an annual average of about 250 gallons
fore~tr-Y and fishing-. is estimated to
Nc .. Nrt785.5 for the I Q59-64 period. The extension services risen from B~ million in 1960 to
1968. were cut off and systematic measures for the con-in thus increasing at the rate of
trol of swollCfl shoot disease were stopped
per annum. Much of this increase was.
~;~le.::.. due to a fise in food prices. Between During 1959-65, the producer price fell steadily
~ and 1Q 65 the retail price index of local food- to Nt·tOO per load. In terms of its purchasing
went up by 72.7 percentage points. Out of the power. the index of real producer price declined
percentage points increase of the national by 6890 between 1958 and 1965. Due to this low
pri.:e index of all items. 37.80/0 points (i.e . price. the farmers could not afford the labour
.7 % of the total increase) was accounted (or input to carryon tbe desired level of husbandry.
tbe rise of tbe local food price. Very little in- It is worth noting that since 1968 some favourable
cptember 1970 THE LEGON OBSERVER
7
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1 1970 THE LEGON OBSERVER September
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1910 l1ffi LEGON OBSERVER J3
In contrast to this situation. mono-culture on the economic condition of the area, could be
areas such as Kuttanad in Kerala, Tbanjavur initiated by the Board. Experiments have shown
. Nadu. and Burdwan in Boogal. have that in unirrigated Whea~ 2 to 3 quintas of addi-
xen regions with considerable degree of 'lgra- tional yield per acre can be obtained if some
unrest. Although there bas been a slight in- nitrogen is applied through leaves at an appro-
~.. in the income from agriculture in these priate time. A programme of genetic upgrading
the landless labour and many tenant fanners of the milk-yield potential of nondescript cows
really lost ground in real income. This is should be initiated by resorting 10 widespread arti-
irony, because these districts are well-endowed ficial insemination.
culture and have a high yield and income While cheap and timely credit facilities may ---:>
. The new technology in the case of rice be adequate for helping small farmers in irrigated
not as advanced as in the case areas. some amount of subsidy would be necessary
and it is necessary to step up our efforu in the earlier stages to introduce a new technology
an improved technology for rice cuhi- in the dry areas, Once the income potential of
. Also. in mono-culture areas there is need the farms in such areas has been raised. it might
evolving plant for the development of agro- be possible to initiate a process of sclf·generating
industries. so that some of the surplus farm investment in agriculture and r.nimal husbandry
can find alternative gainful employment. What therefore is essentially needed at present is
of cropping patterns in addition to an action programme for achieving a teehnologj·
of land tenure and ownership cal change in the farmmg of dry areas,
arc urgently nceded. There is no scientific
for breeding poverty in agricultural popu· Opening New Vistas
in areas endowed with good water supply. Mahatma Gandhi pointed out many years ago
that the divorce between intellect and labour has
The Dry Area.
been the bane of our agriculture. Fortunately, the
Altbough only about 20!j'Cl of the total cultivated opming up of altogether new vistas in crop yields
has assured irrigation facilities. another 40% has acted as a catalyst in getting the educated
the area has a fairly reasooable rainfall. It is classes interested in agriculture in the irrigated
the remaicling areas which arc largely away arca!l. Only the introduction ot a package of a
ro1m the coast. and are hence oUbide the good new technology, which can helD to improve yield
P~;~~::g belts. that concentrated attention on and inoome by over 10070 in the dry areas, can
~ the yield and income of farm holdings have a similar catalytic role in transforming the
urgently called for. The problems of these ar~as outlooJ..: and economic position of the fanning
complex and varied. and hence the precise community in such areas. There is no use initiating
that has to be taken for improving the the outlook and economic position of the farming
of farmers in such areas would also t1egrecs leading to small rises in yield and income.
with the regions under con!;idcration. For This is the reason why a major forward thrust is
x81m~lle. if an area has undulating terrain. such needed in the technological transformation of un·
in Mysorc State. consoli(htion of far~ holdi~gs irrigated fanning. Such a programme would pro·
~~~:~ have to precede the other practices which vide challenging opportunities to the large number
t help in con.;crving moisture ~nd int.roduc~ng of unemployed and undcr.employed engineeri~
new technolol!v . In contra'\t. \0 reg.lons hke graduates in our country. because mgineering
consolidation of holdiflg. .... though de· .. k.ills wouM be greatly needed in helping the dry
will not he a pre.requisite for hringing areas to march forward in production. The initia~
a major advance in pr~uctivity. The new tion of a new deal for farmers in dry areas would
which is emerging for dry areas com· hence not only help to erase a major source of
better methods of water conservation. im· poverty and economic instability in the country.
methods of land preparation . usc of dreu· hut al'io will open the door to gainful and l=;atis-
varieties. sowing oi seeds with a high fying employment to a very large number of our
content. replacement of single long dura· young and technically qualified person ...
crops. foliar fceding and deep placement of
would all need a cO'lsiderahle amount Editor's Note: This extract. from a publication by
assistance from the State both with reference 1be ImIan InvestGknt Centre in ,,"ew Delhi
the supplv of inputs as well as knowledg:e. has been made possible by conrtesy of the
Programmes 'like the aerial application of ferti· blOhuado. OIicer of the Indian High Commie.
Jiam. either f_ or at subsidised rates depending .. ill G .. • ••
September 1910 THE LEGON OBSERVER
15
b. another Member of Parliament and so on mean the non-citizen. by whatever means). When
to the 'people' like us with our fellow com- a case of bribery goes to court, the foreigner
ncr from other parts of the world. may not be here to appear as a witness against
the citizen. This probably is the main field in
'{here this sort of situation does not exist in which most Ghanaians, up to now, have tried to
:ountry. the "people" are looked down upon operate by preferring foreigners to countrymen
any foreigner who steps in. The reasoning is Very, very responsible posts are given to foreign-
.impie one: "Why do I have to bother about ers under the pretext that the feUow countryman
J , an ordinary clerk in the ministry. whe.n .' cannot be "responsible". To keep the foreigner
an get what I want when I go to the mlOister s so treated mute. he is "removed" from the catc-
1se this evening"? Accordingly. he by-passes gory of alien to "expatriate", and given what
clerk in charge of the section and obtains is termed in Ghana as "expatriate aUowance".
rything he wants. The next time he arrives. No one now knows for sure the reason wby
poor clerk does not dare even to ask him these allowances are given. However, some of
e could be of any help to him. He only has their own accord. at times. enlarge the domain
direct him straight away. this time to the of the "expatriate allowances" to include smug-
ncipal Secretary. and the stranger bluffs the gling diamonds and gold as well as disobeying
ncipal Secretary too. This continues until the the laws of the country. that is. giving them pro-
ister himself gets his share of the scorn. At tection and hospitality. perhaps, with the "ap-
juncture. the foreigner is able to speak of proval" of many a "patriotic" citizen.
country to his other "expatriate" friends Frustration of the youth is the outcome of aU
one where the whiteman is feared even by this, and a section of the young ones who still
ministers . This time an "s" has been added have their character in the formative stages. yet
the woco "minister" to make it plural. to be solidly welded to moral values. tend to go
•
in for money at whatever cost. They see in their
"Civil Engineers" and "Architects"
elders the abominable ways to which money
hen this sort of attitude continues for long, acquired, through various "associations" with
ordinary man in the street or tbe average other people. is put. Various types of anti-social
son, for fear of losing his job, attends first hobbies are thereby developed. They want to be
the whites or aliens at public places even like their elder brothers too!
ugh it may not be their turn to be served. With tbis combination of hobbies it is not
preference to any of hiS fellow citizens. Thi~ surprising that progress in the country has been
neither kindness nor hospitality. slow. The men at the top should therefore take
What happens then if a citizen of the country all steps to arrest this situation by setting ex-
ts to be treated as he ought to be? A foolish amples that will enable the young ones to court
e tends to associate himself With those on useful and responsible hobbies. This could be
om are being heaped privileges that are not best done jf our top men would maintain their •
eiT due. He shuns the company of his fellow dignity and integrity that earn them respect from
izens in public to make up for his short- aU - both young and old, foreigner and country-
mings. He thinks that the way most foreigners man
have here is their mode of life in their respec-
e countries. For example. block layers arrive
Ghana and they are "civil engineers"; draugbts- :-Rural Problems
en enter the country and they are paid as
rchittets" to supervise qualified architects. PROBLEMS OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT
ight-club girls come in to perform their tasks By
ter which some decide to stay and arc often E. Ofor; Akyea
played as "secretaries" or "air-hostesses".
hc~ are ju~t but a few of things which are act- 0"1 of the loudly proclaimed plans of tbe Busia
ally happening in the country. All these are government is rural development. The govern-
~ible because when it comes to dealing with ment's <;eriousness with this issue is underlined
c whites. the average Ghanaian forgets his by the appointment of a Minister of State for
ense of values. Rural Development. Significantly the ministry dlso
There are those who intentionally lose their includes the portfolio of Youth development Thl~
~ of values because they feel more "secure" me3()S that the two tie in somewhere. But that
n the company of the foreigner (by which I ic; not our concern here. Th;: purpose of thie;
•
1970 THE LEGON OBSERVER 17
,
•••
but Lufthansa wouldn't 1
This happy Situation comes about by
our Mickey Mouse Service
In child terms this means a Mickey
Mouse girl to play with In our terms
It means a child-lover mums each
one of them
We love the little darlings Even
when they empty mum's handbag.
paint lipstick on the seat and stnp
down to their napples. I
Also we spend more on games and
toys than any other airline This helps
to keep the little ones out of your ear.
Mum's ear too.
Very little ones use very big napples
So we lay them both Qut on a special
nappy table to be found In one of our
tOIlets Which makes mum feel at
home when there are no Mickey
Mouses about
As we sardo we love lovmg the
little ones. and what you love dOing
you do awfully well
Of course I Only the IIUle ones may
play with MIckey Mouses
Lufthansa
I
19
September 1910 THE LEGON OBSERVER •
lerstanding of tbe "change process" or the Observer Notebook
Lamics of economic and social change and of
itical action.
The Plight of Importers
rhere is a need for government, in consultation
WE FEEL bound to draw attention to the stale
h the youth. to draw up national youth policies,
of alarm and despondency existing at the moment
ing special empbasis to the need for the youths'
olvcment in development planning and action. among the ranks of tbe importers of goods as
by a result of the way in which some of the budget this connection the 2S village schemes the
lana National Youth Council commends itself proposals are being implemented.
From the information available to us, it seems -
scrutiny and attentioo.
that the Customs officers have been applying the
he youth are to be encouraged to organize taxes announced in the budget to all goods
mselves. The problem of identifying their need irrespective of whether they were landed at the
yen great. but this needs to be done. It is to ports before the budget or DOt. Those people
noted that the Youth arc vitally interested in whose second-hand cars landed at the barbour,
nge. If they have no real opportunity to paTti- before the budget are also being made to pay
ate actively in rural development. they could the new duties. This may make sense as far as
k solely to the urban areas where some change, the coffers of the government are concerned. But
sitive and negative. was occurring. IS this fair to the importers? Why should a
The problem of leadership is so great that only manufacturer whose raw materials he ordered
pa.~ing reference can be mad!! to it. What role~ months before the budget, and which arrived in
e local authority chiefs and other civic leader~ this country say a week or so before the budget,
to play calls for extensive analysis. But it will be asked to pay the new duties now ranging
enough to say that they hav.: to be sufficiently from 15% to 2000/0? Do the Minister of Finance
ith it" to see to the development of the whole, and his Customs officials want to cripple or
encourage local Ghanaian business enterprise and
Active Involvement manufacturers?
5
Particularly pathetic in this case is the plight
In the final analysis. rural development rests on of second-hand car owners. In his budget state-
e will of ·groups of people to work together for ment, the Mini~ter of Finance made it absolutely
utual advantage. Organizational structures are. clear that the assessment of the value of an
erefore. required which ensure the active involve- imported car for tax purposes should be based
rot and participation of people in their own on the factory price of the car at the time of
cvelopment. Local organisations. such as village original purchase. These are his words: "Hence-
evelopment committees. co_operative societie5 forth second-band vehicles will be taxed in
nd others which involve primary producers. wo- accordance with their age as from their first
en and the youth promote tbis involveme-nt. registration and based on a series of percentage
rebates from fixed initial prices, A car that was
e strategy of institution building also calls for bought four years ago will now pay duty on
ntinuing adaptation to changing requirements: a value which will be assumed to be equal to
his can only be assured by the total involvement 50 percent of the purchase price of a new car
f the people at all stages of the development of of that description in the country of origin as
at the first of July, 1966. Similarly adjustments
heir society. will be made in order to arrive at the dutiable
No discussion of rural instltutional strategy values of all vehicles between 6 months old and
'ould be complete without some consideration of 5 years old",
the need to improve rural amenities and the ge- Yet in spite of tbe clarity of tbis statement,
neral quality of rurnl life. The government is to the Customs officers are now applying tbe factory
CCClsider programmes that make the rural areas price of the latest or 1970 model of the same
car as the basis for assessment of the value of
attractive- there should be recreational and me-
an imported second-hand vehjcle. The cost of
dical facilities. housing. schools, transportation say a ~econd-hand 220 Mercedes Benz car made
and so on if there is to be any slackening in the in 1966 is being reckoned now on the basis of
prevalent drift of people to tbe tOYll\S the cost of the new type of 220 Mercedes Benz.
II September 1970 TIlE LEGON OBSERVER %1
the new diplomatic initiatives now taking place the West and the East, which they beJieve is
between the two political super powers - America uncalled for in the present political realities of
and Russia. the world.
What is therefore left of non-alignment? Can Yet, non-alignment is not easily viewed favour-
the non-aligned nalions now represented at ably by the advanced countries of the world.
Lusaka in Zambia claim that they are non- They argue that the very concept of non-aUgn-
aligned in the true sense of 'non-alignment?' ment is immoral. They ask: How non-aligned
Perhaps it will be necessary to put the ques- are the so-called non-aligned nations? Don't they
lion: What is a non-aligned nation? Two main vote at the United Nations and at other inter·
definitions have been given: The first was by national conferences?
President Sekou Toure of Guinea. who has Nevertheless, non-alignment as a political
always referred to the concept of "militant concept has come to stay. But the relevant ques-
diplomacy" - meaning that no non-aligned tion is - what is left of non-alignment, with
country must maintain military bases on its terri- the disappearance of men like Nehru, Sukarno and
tory; and that the countries that proFess non- Nkrumah? Although one still has some of the
alignment must view aU international ISSUes old guards like Nasser and Sekou Toure - these
on their own merits. militant leaders are far too busy at home to
The other view of non-alignment is always carry further the banner of non-alignment.
given by the so-called moderate states, who argue
that non-alignment is not incompatible with even
having military bases on one's territory . These Letters
countries do belong to such regional groupings as
South East Asia Treaty Organisation (SEATO) nH~ Plight of POlcrty
or one of the military blocs: whether the Western SIR Your editorial on '"Tbe Plight of Poverty" -
bloc or the Eastern bloc, and in fact some so (L.G. VI IS) was very welcome, especially tbe portions
on wage disparities and tbe Prime Minister's decision
allow military bases on their territories. to effect a cut in pay. In fact, the question " If, at
Now with the painful hi storical posture of the the expense of the state, wme individuals arc paid
non-aligned nations. can \ve meaningfully talk NC14,OOO per annum, should we continue to tolerate
of non-alignment'} a situation where olhe rs arc earning NC270 per
annum 1" must be on bebalf of millions of Ghanaians.
Indeed. some of the new nations profess non- But 1 fear it has been asked rather late .
alignment for various divergent reasons ' First. As an Accra bi-weekly pointed out recently, the
some do point to their present military weak- 'lC14,OOO for the Chief Justice and the salaries for
nesses. and take consolation in non-alignment. tbe other Justices jumped up In proportion to those
because they are not safe to be aligned in the of tbe ministers of the present government, and not
vice versa. In any case the Minister of Information
present balance of terror - particularly with the would have done his usual duty (denying it) if the
common fear of thermo-nuclear weapons. Second. paper was wrong. Even now, assuming the total emolu-
some point to their economic under-development ments of the P M given at NC30,600, before the
and take to non-alignment, because they want to recent cut, were correct, he must then be collecting
concentrate on home problems. and bolster their o"'er hundred percent of his "alary in allowances,
economies with their little financial resource:;. '!iinl.'e total emoluments now stand at NC24.600 (salary
'" Cl2'(x)(» .
Finally others profess non-alignment. because of I am not being unduly unappreciative of the laud-
emotional satisfaction. The idea that they have able ge\turc of the P 'f and hi, other Ministers. But
now become members of the international I thmk the former salaries were far too much to
polilical systems. and that they must make their <;tart Wilh, when we consider the fact that ('ommi~~ion"
VOICes felt at international summits and er> under the N L.(' took: NC6.000, and that the
view was widely held that politics in the c;ccond
conferences. republic should be an avenue for the service to one's
Ho. .... ever. in spite of the different interpreta- country, and not a bu~ine\S enterprise, with a profit
tions which the non-alignment countries do put mollve !
on the concept of non-alignment. they are almost Unfortunately you could not point this out the way
)"ou now sugge~t the cut in salaries of the rich few
invariably agreed on some essentials, For example. \\'~ <;UPI!:C~ t that it o:hould l:Ie imr'ICrall\'c for
they Want to judge all international issu~ on their Ihe ularie. of the top men to be C;l.ASHED EVEN
merits. They also want to be left in peace to MORE DRASTICALLY (my empha\io:). How many
develop their economies and their social and Ghanaians has Dr DU~la ever encounte~d sacrificing
politkal systems. Above all. they want to keep their portion, of salary, in response to mere e:thortation".'''
out of the present military stalemate between Certamly the ~alary aap mu~t be bridaed, maybe
1970 THE LEGON OBSERVER 23
.....
1
4 ,
•• ' .
,,
• £ --
""'-1:.-_--'" I . , ....
ur ~~@[}{]'U'D [}{]&~[ID ~&~ in Ghana
• • • Ghana Commercial Bank
There are other banks in our problems on letters of credit,
country, but none which has travellers cheques, foreign ex-
such close links with its people change, and advice on Economic
as we. And with our interna- development projects and invest-
tional connections in Europe, ment are easily solved.
Britain. Asia and USA plus
a special relationship built When in Ghana contact any of
on special knowledge. your our 95 branches.
GHANA COMMERCIAL BANK
IIEAD OFFICE:
P. O. BOX 134. •
ACCRA
Telephone. 64914.1, 6]524. 63529 and 63480
I O~DO/'.i OFFICE:
69 CHEAPSJDE. -•
LONDON, EC. 2
Telephone- 01·248 2]84 and 01-248 0191
•
sel'vel'
fortrulbtly OrpD of the Lelon Sn;;,cly on Nal,onal AffaIr'
Price lSop
-01. -V- -No. 20
2S September--3 October 1970
------------------
r THIS ISSUE -3 :JC~ 1970
rrORIAL 2
pes of a Nation
Lmcs •
sia and the Youth •
E. Ofo!"i Alyea
BU~la a Politician? ~
M:u Assimcng I •
oteria and Tests for Mea<iunng
Cabinet ProdUl.;ti\'lty (
G. Adali-MOr1ty
usia and the New Politic.,
K A. Sarpong • •
hana',> Forci~n Policy Under Dusia •
K A Kankari ./ •
E LAW 20
e Busia Administratwn and the Law
Kwamc Afrch
OBSERVER l\OTEBOOK •
rom Ghostland With a Cross
Flare-uP In the Arab World
BOOK REVlE\\" 2"
•
Edu<.:ation In the De,,"eloplng Countnc. .
of the Commonwealth
Renewed by E. A Haizel
LEI lEKS
Exploitation of the Youth?
Ghanaians and Family Planning
Ho~ Dcm(ICrahc is G.N.A T
MlSCELLA NEOLS
llulialO(Y
'-_ V __ A_._ v ............... t ________- l'-______________________~ ________
1970 THE LEGON OBSERVER 3
JUDICIAL SERVICE
There exist vacancies for
Registrars
of The National and Regional Houses of Chiefs.
LlFICATIONS:
Applicants must be (a) Ghanaians aged not less than 30 years and
(b) either retired High Court Registrars or University Graduates with
at least 2 years' experience of working in an office or holders of at
least the (jenera I Cer: ificate of Education or School Certificate with
a minimum of 10 years' experience in an administrative or executive
or other such responsible grade.
SALARY:
The salary scales which are pensionable are:
(i) For the Registrar of the National House of Chiefs
NC4848.00 x NCI56.00 - NC5316.00 x NCI68.00-NC5484.00
(; ;l For the Registrars of the Regional Houses of Chiefs
NC3468 .00 x NCI20.00 - NC3588.00 x NCI32.00 - NC3984
DUTIES:
l'hese will, among other things, be the issuing of processes relating
10 chieftaincy matters; compiling the records of the Houses of Chiefs
during the hearing and determination of matters relating to chieftain-
cy including. in the case of the National House. appeals in such
matters, and the examination and settlement of appeal records for
the Supreme Court; keepmg account of all fees. fines and other
moneys paid into and out of the Houses. and otherwise making
correct entries in the appropriate books of all such moneys as
required by Financial Orders or as directed by the respective Houses
of Chiefs; drawing up of Orders by the Houses; giving guidance on
procedural and other such relevant rules and regulations; as well as
the preparation of annual estimates and supervision of subordinate
staff
•
METHOD OF APPLICATION:
Forms are obtainable from the Judicial Secretary. judicial Service.
Law Courts Building. P.O. Box 119. Accra. These forms should be
completed and returned not later than 15th October. 1970. Per>ons
now in any of the Public Services may apply only through Iheir Heads
of Ministries. Departments or Corporations. Originals of supporting
documents may not be forwarded Persons under any form of bond
are not eligible.
~5&=~~~=~=n~=r~19~70~ __________TH_ E_ _L _E_G_O_N~O=B=SE=R~VE~R~ ____________________5
will assume responsibility for all youth work. ledge is meant for, most of them evasively say
providing organjzation and machinery Dot that they expect othen to correctly make use of
only for co-ordinating but also for giving their sociological knowledge for the bettennent of
administrative and technical support neces- m~r:tkind.
sary to ensure the successful promotion. Dr. Kofi Abrefa Busia began researching into
running and supervision of the youth pro- the structure and dynamics of thl! Ghanaian so·
gramme' (Hansard. Sept. 10. 1970. col. 1257). ciety as far back as the middle of the 19: O·s. He
bas since extensively studied the sions and
One begins to heave a sigh of relief. But the strains involved in the transition f m traditiona·
rogrammes have to be initiated and execut- ism to modernity. He is himself a man of village
. Certain subjects have been pinpointed as rna- origins, and from a home where tradition is very
ial for the programme. Their feasibility needs strong; he cannot. therefore, possibly be unaware
be investigated. Secondly. if the execution of of the social structure of our rural areas. He
e programmes will not be bogged down by ad- also chose Sckondi·Takoradi for detailed study
inistrative incompetence. rd tapeism, they have of the problems and oonftic~s involved in rapid
good chance of success. urbanization. Busia is obviously too humble to
claim that he understands the society more than
Hopes of Success anyone else in this country. But there is no doubt
reservalioo that few understand the social problems of tbe The one has about the new Depart-
ent of Youth Services is that it is going to ope- society more than he does.
Ic as part of the Civil Service where procedures
re set and slow for youth workers. Youth work· Contro,' of Effective Power
s constant,y improvise and have to work with
peed; but ",here they have to be controlled and \ The passion to gain political power, which
. m. ho\\" different will the new o(fjce be from Busia has shown for the past two decades, was
e hosts of government oHices already in exis· probably motivated by his conviction that one
ence? can do something concrete about the needs and
It is gratifying to note the excellent relations aspirations of a society only when one is in con·
at exist between the Youth Ministry and the trol of effective power. Although Busia is yet to
han", NJtionai Youth Council. But one would come out with any concrete ideological position.
ave wished that the Council and its constituent one discerns some kind of 19th century Christian
!""lies would be strengthened by greater help in socialism in him.
rder to increase its work and the spirit of volun· After almost twenty years of varying degrees
ism and selfless service so lacking in our of political wilderness and palpable ineffectuality.
idst. Busia is now the Prime Minister of Ghana. and.
for that matter constitutionally the most powerfu!
T IS not quite clear how many countrie~ in the
political figure in the nation. Perhaps one year
n Youth should be flung wider afield so that
of office may not be ooough to assess the perfor.
any sides of the issue get known for a better
mance of a political leauer; and obviously the
caD to be struck. enormity of the social and economic problems
which he inherited was such that clearly very
IS BUSIA A POLITICIAN? little could be acoomplished in this first year of
administration . Also it is contended that Busia
by Max Assimeng
is yet to find his feet because It is the fir~[
IT IS not quite clear how many countries in the time he has been at the helm of governmental al!·
world are governed or led by sociologists. But thority. But these are no excuses for exempting
Gbana certainly has a unique opportunity to ex· Busia-and the men around him-trom the stric·
periment with bow well able sociologists are in test scrutiny possible. Even a single day's per·
grappling with problems of the solution of a ronnance can be subjected to ana.lysis. even if
society's iUs. We know that sociologists uo a the analyis is of a declaration of intent only
k>t of talking and writing about society; but when The reasons for this searching exercise ar~
it oomcs to correcting those ills then tbey recoil. many. Ghanaians bad for long been indoctrinated
in a maze of incomprehensible verbiage, under the into the belief that intellectuals are more ustd to
IRIO" thaI they .... .... decision makers. And discussions and bickerings on words and theories.
wben they are me.! further, as Ro~rt S. Lynd and tbat when it comes to practical politics and
baa ute.! his coUea ...... as to what t~ir know- t~ lakin, of decisions they ~have like cbildren.
5 September 1970 THE LEGON OBSERVER
7
••
. .
I'm worried .- .
because I shall
retire in a few years
and I haven't any
savings on which
to rely."
"I'm not
worried"
The money from my
Endowment Assurance
with the Guardian Royal
Exchange Assurance
Group will look
after me."
Can You look Forward to a happy re-
tuement with freedom from worry ab-
out money? If not ),ou should contact
our ;\lr. Qua),son, in Accra (Tel. 64991)
or Mr. ;"lilne, in Kumasi (Tel. 2325)
or 1I!r. SIms in Takoradi (Tel. 2035)
or wnte to
Guardian Royal Exchange Assurance Group
.. COMPRISI~C
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ROYAL EXCHANGE ASSURANCE
GHANA HOUSE, POST OFFICE SQUARE, ACCRA
1970 THE LEGaN OBSERVER
using monetary yield factors; for. govern- or future Cabinet. after interpolating the
behaviour does stimulate economic fertility, necessary constraint.. . and conditions?
it to shrivel up. 3. What is the Ghanaian inveslment climate
behaviour influences social stabl- like. today, in comparison with the invest-
or sows the seed for social upheaval; it eSla- ment climate in neighbouring countries. again
an atmosphere wbereby investors here after allowing for the differences in the
abroad determine for themselves whether or starting resources?
thl!Y aTC welcome, and whether their capital 4. What gains or losses in goodwill for Nation
invested will be safe and productive. Any and for itself has the Cabinet produced
l elll""eI1l which does not review its record in among Ghanaians and in Afncan and over-
of some such criteria is digging its own seas countries?
grave. (Goodwill is used in this context as an eco-
about Resources in the equation above'! nomIc asset.)
business. resources, as used for purposes of
of performance, aTC the total in- Intentions and Avowals
the outcome of which is being evaluated.
Mathematical processes are available for work-
jg'ov,:rn,rn"nt's resources are the derived resour-
of the country's total productive agencies. pu- 109 out above problems. While the figures repre-
and private. such as invested capital, produc- sented by the factors in the questions posed above
manpower. geographical factors. etc. The are being detennined for eventual feeding into
f, r'ly appropriations included. Given the lands. oomputers. certain hypotheses spring to mind
rivl!rs. the manpower, the organization. the reflecting {he one-year perf'Jrmance of the Cabi-
tural outlook of the citizens. etc .. how produc- net in question. In the event that the ruling elite
has been the stimulation provided by govern- is sufficiently interested in the question of object-
measures? ive productivity measurement. I shall provide my
own hypotheses. and shall subject them to the
Effects of Government Controls test of the computerized findings!
In developing countries of the size of Ghana. Other battery of tests can be devised specially
~vernlm''"tal impact is direct and close. whatever for measuring the results of election-time inten-
area of production may be. In countries like tions and avowals; e.g. effects of the God-fearing
ioP,an, the United States of America. Germany syndrome can be subjected to mathematical ana-
Great Britain. private enterprise is not as ex- lysis and measuremrnt. So. also. even if a govern-
to tbe constraints arising from government ment were word-centred. Words are more I!asily
directions. bureaucratic interferences and mocked and deceived. of course; figures can, too.
as are private enterprises in small. deve- but less easily.
countries, Not every politician likes harsh figures, Many
In OUf type of developing countries. capital pro- do not relish stark economic realism. either Never
facilities productivity <!nd personnel mind. Others, including people's stomachs and
are as much the functions of govern- the ancestral genii of our society. can and arc
regulations and controls as the achievement doing the reckoning for the politicians. If politi-
failure of the managements, This being the cians care to send in their own battery of pro-
}a,~, the prosperity of the country. expressed blems and questions based on ascertainable and
terms of value-added or Net National Pro- quantitative facts. there are many to work out
is a mix between public restraints or per- the figures.
on tbe one hand, ood management
on the other. BUSIA AND THE NEW POLmCS
With the above for working background. the By
tests and criteria for measuring Cabinet K A Sarpong
may be lornnulated: Jr IS often said that periods and events produce
1. Given the resources of the country, less the their own leadecs. The last decade produced cha-
Mantial constraints. what gains may be rismatic leaders such as Kennedy. De Gaulle.
chalked up in numerical terms as the per- Nehru. TilO. Ben Bella. Nkrumah. Keita, Castro.
formance of the Ghana Cabinet. after a year Nasser, and Lumumba. And those were the crisis
of operation? periods-the Congo, Algeria. the Southern African
2. How does this performance measure or rank beIl.y.I, Berlin, Middle East, etc .
with the performance 01 a bypothetical past BetweCll 1957 .nd 1966, Gbana ....s ;0 tbe thick
1 I
THE LEGON OBSERVER
ptembcr 1970
I
,
•
•
ya,u can enjoy the
goodness of
FAN KISS In your
flavour. Choose
you like best-
Chocolate.
tr~,~ berry. Caramel.
'e: or Banana
I!>l'eald FANKISS on your
r,~ ;~~i~~~~~:fr~o~~m·t . ~t h-e opra ecakt.
Plain is just right
tea or coffee.
~p~ ~~:3~;; ~f~r~o~m AdaNi ry food
supren'le load Ireshntent
1970 1HE LEGON OBSERVER 13
~:rly~pe~,r~,so~:na l intrigues. lacking the autonomy bates have not been particularly inspiring in sPite '
~ authority whether of the party or of the fact that our assemby has s,ome of tbe best
Jlb.e state!! The rumour.mongering, the allega- brains. The govemment has been re-acting with
of bribery and corruption of this or that panic and loss of nerves, while the opposition
rniliter etc .. of this or that vying with this or seemed to be taking the initiative in limited areas,
for this or tbat appointment Of this or that although the Opposition itself has not been able
the confidant of the Prime Minister; tbat to rally any serious counter-programme as alter-
that Minister will be removed at the im- native tll that of tbe government Party.
Cabinet reshuf[)e etc .. We have heard pronouncements by Ministers
and Junior Ministers that seemed to lack co-ordi·
if there is a distinct Oavour to the new
nation: and there is the re-appearance of POSh)
lvc:mmc:nt (one is (lot very sure of this) it may
cars as symbol of tbe politician's power reminis-
that it lies in the emphasis it would like to
crnt of the old politics!
" ce on private Ghanaian enterprise! It is the •
area where the onc year of the Busia govern-
rent bas shown its toughest slance and has the Challenges of the Society
so shoYll1 its faith in the Ghanaian. The
And is it to be assumed that the creative urge
have always shown themselves as the
of the youth is to be ignored. that our Prime
influential pressure group in the community
Minister. himself a pillar of moral rectitude. is
this bi "",hat they are capable of doing- the
"no beginning. but an end. a grandiose final chord
AllIn greasing. etc.; to have threatened their
- a fulfiller. not a prophet?" The new adminis-
is no mean achievem,;nt.
tration must oodertake to capture the imagination
of the youth, Such a posture demands new atti-
Those Agletments Too! tudes because up till now the traditional
approaches have failed us. Indeed we need a fresh
And what of Drevici? He was isolated by the start with fresh ideas. The old faces with the old
~cllics of the new government. One only hopes ideas ,md the old cliches are not the answers to
this exercise would surgically operate those the problems of today. And this is because what-
reen"nts entered into by the National Libera- ever the problems. our new leaders cannot be
Council government in circumstances that absolved from the responsibility of meetiflg the
~uspic:ous! But this exercise should also challeng::s posed by the society they have under-
to examine the GhanaiaTl businessman taken to govern.
tramferring to him the injustices of the So far there has been evidence of some stagna-
operators. The Ghanaian businessman tion and lack of imagination on the part of some
more consumptive than productive. He is only of our Ministers. and it does not appear that the
in going to the areas "",here the usc of machinery of state is working in a fashion that
brain is nil; import and usc the quick profits will permit us to solve any of the problems
dispb.ys of ostrotatious cars and houses. He facing this country effective1y. The one happy
1(',U"ns on the yield of this society but never bestirs thing is that Busia and his men have the best of
himself to solve its problems. He "enters soul in intentions and they mean only well for this coun-
peace'" on the terrible anti-national path of living try: thus any mistakes they have made so far are
in elegJ.nce at the expense of the impoverished gcnuine ones. Let us hope that the one year of
masses. The danger is that of a widming gulf Progress Party administratioTl was only the start·
betw-ecn the commercial oligarchy who live in dis- ing point of the hope that their election promised
proportionate luxury and the abject poverty of (or aU Ghanaians.
the rur:lI millions. Having succeeded in removing
the Lebanese parasites. we must prevent a situa-
tion where Ghanaians (an tum into commercial GHANA'S FOREIGN POLICY UNDER BUSIA
sharks By
The new politics of Ghana has served to show K A. Karikari
certain dullness and has also shown to be lacking THE TONE of foreign policy pronouncements since
in popular participation. There has been an appal- the advent of the Busia government brings into
Img lack. of institutional framework both within focus a reappraisal of Ghana's foreign relations
the Party and the Government for reaclimg out with Africa and the outside world. Perhaps it is
for ideas. despite the promise to exPloit the best more appropriate, after one year of Busia's
Wenll in the coun,t ry. And the parliamentary de- governmeo~ to trace the course of Ghana's for-
15
THE LEGON OBSERVER
nber 1970
etrieve our diplomatic set-back on the
'ant. It adopted a policy of co-opera-
non-involvement in Africa which
mplete reversal of Nkrumah's tactics. et t at
N.L.C. admini~tration set the pace for
:1erstanding on the African situation.
J Dity was given a new interpretation. won er u
s to be achieved through economic co-
and political understanding of all
in Africa. With regard to our relations ount
outside world. though Ghana professed
neutrality", we preferred the West to •
We had closed many of our missions in
n world, and the N.L.c' received more ee ln
aid from the West than from tbe East. b
on the whole the N.L.C. did not change
ce of our foreign policy. The N.L.C.
ation only took to quiet but effective
y.
usia administration during one year of
ce is still in search of a foreign policy
the needs of Ghana and the govern-
nderstanding of the international poli-
tern . Although Mr. Victor Owusu. the
Minister, has said openly that "we did
se Nkrumah's foreign policy but his
policy", yet most of the policy pro-
ents of the present government point
erent style of foreign policy. The signifi-
int to note about these pronouncements
the outward appearance of our diplomacy
uaUy changing.
Our Traditional Policy
y. Busia's administration has restaterl our
oal policy of non-alignment This policy
ly stated by Busia when he passionately
t><" the 24th Session of the United Nations
I Assembly. The Prime Minister reiterated everr tInl
e aim of our foreign policy would be to •
its proper balance. and that our policy
-alignment was based on the current post-
developing countries caught up in tbe
of terror because of the bi-polarization PRODUCED BY
world. Dr. Busia also pledged our support PARAMOUNT DISTILLERIES LTD.
e United Nations and our belief in the
pies of the United Nations Charter.
iea continues to be the cornerstone of P.O. Box 3816
's foreign poJicy. Busia's government bas
oubt under-written the N.L.C. African
. The Prime Minister bas reaffirmed his Kumasi
meat's belief in African Unity and its
ued co-operation with all members of the
isation of African Unity. However. Busia's Cables: PARAGIN KUMASI
policy does not appear too impressive
me of our neighbours and friends abroad.
17
25 September 1970
qGhan.,·,
II'>hing Indu!>try
u-.c .. Aluminium
fi .. h.rrcczing
Ir.1\,>,
I ... '-....
,
The brewing industry IS another customer.
We are fabricating I.SOO-gallon capacity
....- storage tanks for Tiger Pito_
These were designed in our
O\l,n drawing office, as were
the 50-gallon tanks for
Pito retail sale5 outlets. /,
100 of \1 hich were
also made recently
at our Tema Work~
has opened up the field for welded Aluminium
other uses. such as processing palm-oil.
, in Ghana as in so man} other enlightened
. Aluminium is taking over from other
in industry as well as in the home, on the
road, on \Iater and in the air.
Where sheet meta! fabrication
is concerned, let our expert
designers and craftsmen
solve your problems too. (
We aren't called The
Problem Solvers for nothing 1
-\Iuminiuni
Contact: In the Beer Industr): ., gi.1nl l'ioo-gallon
Specialty Products Division,- Pita .. lOrage tanl.. dnarrs 3 50-galioD
Ghana Aluminium Products Limited, retaif cJj~pcn!lCr tan!.. .
P.O. Box 124, Tema.
Tel: 2725/6/7. •
19-8-16100
5 !cptember 1970 TIlE LEGON OBSERVER
19
•
Starting in business or industry?
Already established and expanding? •
awaits
you at
Barclays
•
Bank
MR. EMMANUEL N_ HORTEr is tile Manager of the Kimberley ...b enUI!! branch of 801(""1$ Bank, In Accril. In the
couru o[ his c.rur with Barclays, edending oyer fifteen years, he flu lNofA~ in many capacities
and in nine differMt branches o[ the tnnk. Mr, Nortey flu three times been to the United Kingdom on training
courses and holds the Institule of Ban/(ers ASlocia/e Diploma which he gamed in 1963 INllh dls/lnction In
the Law Ref./mg /0 SanJcing. He W,IS formerly Maoagu of Knuls(ord Allenue, Accra, branch.
When Mr, Norley wfdcomes customers inlo his office they can M SUfe that they wilf gd the soundest ban/fJng oldy/c.,
tudMi by hiS wide u~"ence. and a/l the Ufl'iCes th.t Barclay, no offer.
Wbether your busineM is large or small. the comprehcnAivc facilities ot Barclays are a'
YOU1" disposal. With its progressive outlook.". its wide
experience of bankin::- in Ghana .. , its conn('ctions \. .' ith the City of T. ondon
and the whole ..... orld.". its network of more. than 60 branches throughout Ghana. 'Barclays
can gee1st you in &0 many ways. And n.lwayg in the spirit of helpful service.
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• •
BARCLAYS BANK
At the HNi '.,n,a' tr Ii
1HE LEGON OBSERVER 21 ) September 1970
The State Insurance
Corporation gives
you complete protection.
Whether you require life,
General, Marine or Fire
insurance don't hesitate
to contact any S.I.C. office
or authorised Agent.
Remember, the s.l.e.
umbrella covers all
, aspects Of Insurance and
all inqUIries are gIven
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EST 1962
STATE
INSURANCE
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P.O. BOX 2363
• ACCRA
TEl. 6696t •
& 21833
YOUR KEY TO SECURITY Branches
throughout Ghana
-
September 1970 TIffi LEGON OBSERVER 23
• ---- -
•
•
•
'.
• ••
Backed by the late s t eng in e ering tech
"Iques of world famou s W estinghou se
of America , thi s high capa City room air
conditioner IS built to ensure maximum
cooling efficiency
Completely assembled In Ghana, the
advanced Espace room airc,o ndltloner
has ... 11 the features for quality and ele
gance. and after sales -service will gua
ran tee Espace IS truly the most modern
room airconditioner yOu can buy
Made tn Ghana under Westinghouse
license by Cacri (Chana) Ltd .
Sold by TECNOA and serviced ,n their
well equipped workshops
at Accra. Tem. , Kumasi. Takoradi .
Special Bonus to purchasers - 1 year Free maintenance contract by Teena.
\cera : P.o. 80\ 559 Lil.orJdi: P.O. 80\ 271
"lema. P.O. 80\ .J75 "'uma~i : P.O. Bo'\ 191~
1970 THE LEGON OBSERVER 25
Notebook a stealing racket is behind (or exploiting) this cross mania as a pretext to gain access to the
homes of the unwary?
From Ghostland-With 8 Ctoss We know tbat this piece of travelling visitor
sign of the cross has always been vieweJ by is only a transient phCl!lomenon. But those who
men with considerable amount of awe have time-and the necessary resources-should
And, like the origin of tbe Jewish continue the search for the reasons why at a cer·
bv,,,, any symbol tbat purports to exempt tain stage in a nation's history some people come
from an impending catastrophe gains more to believe. even when they are told ficticiously.
average significance. It is interesting that that their natioo is being invaded from the mars
history periods of national distress
produced the greatest amount of credulity
borders on superstition and irrationality. Flare-up in the Arab World
Obsener oorrespoodent has travelled fairly
Soviet Premier Alexei Kosygin once advised
throughout the country recently, and reo
Arab leaders that there should be some unanimi·
that doors and windows have been dubbed
ty of purpose among them. and that Arab friends
the ~ign of the cross. In some cases electrical
wanted to know just what the Arabs wanted. This
telephone posts have not been spared.
call is even more urgent now. For, recent news
origin of this new phenomenon is appa·
obscu re. and those who have "crossed" from the Middle East do not give assurance of
doors arc themselves not quite sure of their the prospect of peace which we envisaged as a
Ah'es. But from various. often incoherent. result of the Jarring mission.
jr«:s of information. it has become established Following the mass hi· jacking of various air·
a strange personage is said to be going around liners by the Palestinian Commandos two weeks
at peoples' doors and a\king if a certain ago. and the as yet undecided fate of some of the
treasure (Sasabonsam's son'» is biding in their passengers. the confusion in the Arab world has
become more confounded.
white chalk sign of the cross is said to exempt The latest story is the internal struggle for
from this 'divine' visitation. Hence the power now raging between Palestinian guerrillas
galore. and the Jordanian government troops. Casualties
\Vm To Beli~e, as Marcus Bach calls It are said to be running into thousands. Jordan
always enabled men in unhappy moments to and Syria arc now at loggerheads. although these
explanations to the inexplicable. and to two countries are also supposedly fighting in
thcmselves to such exigencies in a manner unison against their common enemy-Israel.
draws on the primordial irrational cnergic!'. The latest confusion. coming in the wake of
arc stored up in the subconscious layers of the \\orld·wide condemnation of the recent hi·
human psyche. jackings. must be terribly embarrassing to Presi·
What the student of tbe society is interested in dent Nasser. the communist friends, and the
not the truth or falsity of the ghost claim. All world at large who. though sympathetic to the
of claims have bem encountered before- Palestinian plight. wonder just what the Arabs
Imino the 1918 influenza, for instance, when it are after
believed that the influenza disease was a
~'. .n that wandered around. <;courging its vic·
who had the misfortooe to meet him. Now,
course. it is cholera .... hich is said to be a Are you
l o>,in haunting. human being. As in the hey·
l~;~u'a~;r the Tigare cult. we know that the marc the source of a magical feature. the better
more potent it is said to be. on our
The secular implications of these primitive de·
must be laid bare. of course. In this age
the trickster. could it be that some chalk manu·
'-:'~:~:~,~fi::nn;s might be indulging in high pressure Su bscri ption list?
I~ at a time when the value of chalks
I~a. probably reached a low ebb' Is it possible that
1970 THE LEGON OBSERVER 27
- --~--------
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IIoropo )01' fill' "". Ifill·
lI.fIl
U.s.A. IUO 111.00
()t.,,,. 113.00 IUO SU. S11.oo
>eptcmber 1970 THE LEGON OBSERVER
29
:ommiS5ioner of Police (now called, Cor no apparent
Dn. Inspcdor General of Police) and the ~1Inis·
of the [ntcrior were sent to court on a charge of
empt of court and found guilty_ In prcci<icly the
;: way, only a few months after the installation of
Pro-Sufe go\cmment. the Inspector-General of e
oCe and the Mmister of the Interior were also taken
ourt on that same charge and also found gUIlty. In
I ca~es too. neither of them did go to pri~n as one
ld have expected. In the Nkrumah Lase, both were
~mnificd by an Act which was rushed through Parlia-
.t on a certificate of urgency. In the Dusia case, no
Act was rushed through Parli ament; the judge est
emcd did not imro~c a pri~on term on them. The
offenders wcrc merely bound over to be of good
\iour. How the good ~ha\'iour of the Inspector
eral of Polir.:e can be called in question can only be
rstqod in the light of yet another maxim very fIOpu-
n Kontopiaatl..rom. namely. 'the law is an ass'
Victim; o( Deportatioo
Your Advertisements
gain rcade~ of twenty-three plu'i ~hould th, .. time
11 thai the fint 5i:\. months of mdependence saw the
rlalhlO of many people S~'ri:lO", Lebane'>e. In- Must Give Good
\, :-';igeriam, Goans. etc elc. The mo~t famous of
c ca"c~ was the Amadu Baha ca~e. and dcportation
been one of the pnncipal acl;,·il;es. if not in fact
on~y adi\it:t ~o (ilr. of Bus,a's Miniqer of the Returns
rior The ,ir.:ttm~ ha\-c aIm mduded Lehanc~e. Syri -
Nigerians. Indians. and il~ if t~) Pfll\ e the neulrality
the P .P Im·ernment. at least one Ru~sian woman!
most memorable of thc~e deportation". In the
ion of Ihl!: pn.:'Iith;llt of H S.K. IS that of the Indian
) wa' quarrelling y, ith anolhcr Indian nol e\-en over
GhanaIan woman but amlthl:r Indtan \-\llman. The 'Legon Observer'
at, in the name of the 77 god\ of Kontopluatkrom.
Minister or Interior had to do with two Indians
rrelling o\'cr an Indi an woman. we "1111 halo'':: not takes you to the People
n able to find out It may be recalled that \tr
on O. was aclmilteO al Ihl: Mllttary Hospital
few weeh after hi" appo:ntment to the \1ini~tT)' who take notice
the Interior The President of the Go~ .. ip Committee
'sted that \-ft Simon D'.., c.1mplaint y,ao; a di"loca-
of the right shlluld~r fol111wing the ... ignature of
crou.. deportation orde!"l . Of CllUf"iC. nobodv
5cnt tlelie"ed a word of Ihl".
he third common denominator !>o h.r ha~ been the
frontation bet\\.ccn the Dench and the F,ecuti\'e
the O\<.e ('If Ihe ( P P government. the chma, was •
Antor and A'icl..e ca<we wh,le that of the P P Advertise In
vernment ~o far ha~ becn the Sallah ca<.e It ... hould
-pointed out that 10 both ca"e". the court's ruling
nt again"\ the 80vcrnment and hoth Premiers react-
lo'ery "harpl.,- l'iLrumah assumed e,tra judicial
""en and therefore ignored the ~o}urts. while Bu .. ia the 'Legan
rcatened the Bench in a radto and television broad·
t.
A fourth et"Immon element has h«:o the u~ of
otorcades. sircn~. rolice luards etc etc, The Pre .. i- Observer'
nt of RS K wa." really ~"Clrried "hen during the
t three months or so of the P P lo\'Cmment. these
torcade, disappeared It seemed then that Hiltary
d aot repeat i~U alter aU. But ju~t when he was
(ember 1970 THE LEGON OBSERVER 31
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I. V No. 21 9-22 October 1970
~~----------~--
EIIITO.11t
THIS ISSUE
NASSER'S MIDDLE EAST LEGACY
XPLOSION THE sudden. tragic death of Gamel Abelel Nasser early last
week has robbed. tbe world of ODe of the main pillars \.)0
which the prospects of world peace fragilely bang. Although
IN be was not one of the best admired friends of the western world. and although Dot all the Communist leaders who ador-
ed him had a clear idea of what he precisely stood for. it
became increasingly accepted that he. more than any other
SIERRA LEONE Arab leader. had the requisite stature that could weld the often disparate Arab groupings together.
President Nasser's rise to world fame began in 1952
when. with some other young army officers. he overthrew
I and exiled Egyptian King Farouk. Since then _he has done his
best to work unceasingly towards the emergence of Egypt
Middle East L~gac:y
as a strong military and industrial force on the world map.
2
f';('"" As he lay dying, Colonel Nasser must have seriously Service and the Youth poodered within himself over the numerous unsolved pro·
Karino blems that he was bequeathing to his people and the world
at large. The ravages of the 1967 June war have been
scarcely repaired, despite Russia's ever-willing, prompt aid
the Asantehene', Majesty? in the reinforcement of the Egyptian military equipment:
Arbin the Palestinian refugee problem. the solution of which must
• have terribly v.eighed on his unstable health, remaifns as insoluble as ever; the peace mission of U.N. envoy Gunnar
Fo;',"" Planning Practice In Ghana , Jarring had scarcely begun before the 9O.day ceasefire was
"ns S. At", broken; Israel apparently has no immediate intention to
withdraw from tbose Arab territories she occupied in 1967,
11 and the cause of Arab unity. which suffered initial setback
Ion'" Leone: Return 10 Turmoil when Syria pulled out of the United Arab Republic. saw
K A_ B_ Jones·Quartey the most c1assic example of difficulty during the latest Heads
of State meeting in Cairo just before his death.
"OTEBOOK 16 11 is a pity that, owing to constant warfare and the pre-
A1.ufo-Addo, the Police and parations for such. the goal of social transformation and
the Citizen economic advancement which he promised the people of
r."".Agg,·css;on Jokes! Egypt after the coup of 1952 has not been very quick in
Delegation And That Flag achievement. Even then, there is no doubt that the lot - and
pride - of many Egyptian peasants became far better under
18 Nasser who. although a great lover of power, could not be
'han,,·! Pmilcgcd Few regarded as a brutaL dictator in any ~nse.
1",,>1, Rearing At Pubhc Exptnse But we should also remember that, although first and
Churches And S<x;lcty foremost an Arab, the late President wa3 as well a great
~O,"o(>;aat And o.u. . Gods African. and y.as seriously involved in the determination of
~elli."ous Discrimination In Uhler the destiny of lbe black race. and of aU opp<essed peoples
Bats:& Belona to the United Party? in the world. His setncss and untiring role in the Organiza.
re"pc, Bandits Apin tion of African Unit)'. and in the cause of non-alignmoot. is
Students well knov.-n If he seemed to have less time (or the wotinen-•
_2 __________________~ IH~E~i~LE~G~O_N_O_~_ R _V_E_ R_ __________________
tal politics of Africa South of tbe Sahara. this
was certainly because of the complexities of tbe Developmen'
Urunediate problems that he had to face in and
around his own Egyptian kingdom.
While the ideok>gicai tenor of his successors NATIONAL SERVICE AND 11111: YOUl1l
is keenly awaited. it is doubtful if any Arab lead· By
er of Nasser's fame and authority can be expect.
ed to emerge in the near future. He alone bad Afum Karikari
tbe: status in tbe Arab community of being able IN MANY countries there are various rorOll
to say "yes" or "no", and to get the backing of national and international youth
a majority of his compatriots for his commit· and youth corps. In the United States, for
ments. However much President-designate Sadat there is compulsory military service for the 'v.
docs in following the footsteps and ideals of Nas- - to defend their motherland whenever the need
ser, it i5 inconceivable that he can leave the ty(>\: arises. In Germany and Japan after the second
of indelible stamp which his predecessor left 00 World War. and in Israel (after its 'creation' ill
the Middle East scene. It certainly needed a J 948), reconstruction and rehabilitation were, to
Nasser to be able to bring oonservatives and radi- a great extent, done through various forms of
cals. such as King Hussein of Jordan and Houri voluntary national service.
Boumedienne of Algeria. into a single pan.Arab
communion. It is ironical. but understandable, In Europe (including the U.K.) theee are
that the Arabs were sharply divided in thelC various voluntary youth organisations whose
estimation of the degree of moderation or o( areas of operation. in unpaid service to maD4
radicalism of the Egyptian President. Increasmgly. kind, encompass certain parts of our continent.
as the recent case of the intra-Arab fratricide in The Civil Service International. with bases in Paris
Jordan revealed. Nasser had become a consider- and Zurich, has been in existence and heJ}Jing
able moderating influence on the extremists in in relief work. and on other development projeots,
the Arab world . since after the first World WaI during the 1937/39
That he did not live to see a lasting peace be- Spanish civil war. from which General Franco',
twec:rn the Israelis and the Arabs is unfortunate; regime emerged, the organisation's relief activi.
but this only goes to confirm how complex the ties were commendable. In the turbulent dayt
Middle East conf1ict is . This is why his death o! the Algerian people's struggle. S.c.I. (for
gives no comfortable cause fOI rejoicing. even short) helped to rehahilitate Algerian relug. ..
among his most bitter enemies in Morocco and Tunisia, in 1959-62. Beside~, it
runs short term camps (one to fifteen weeks).
with emphasis on useful work for a needy com-
munity and international understanding. For
ACCRA FILM SOCIETY instance, activities may include the construction
of roads, milk-pipelines, school buildings, sm.1)
bridges, community centres. irrigation systems.
drainage and many other projects.
TENTII SEASON
Seni<e 10 Mankind
Nine international films-Subscrip- Operation Crossroads Africa. the American
tion NC3.50. Enrolment of members Friends Service Committee (ooth in the U.S.).
tbe International Voluntary Service of Britain (a
between 7 and 8 p.m. on 19th Octo- hrmch or s.c. I.) and the Arbeitskrecs Inter-
ber at Y.M.C.A., Castle Road, follow- nationalee Germeischatlsdienste (AJ.G.) of West
Germany, are other foreign voluntary youth
ed by first show for members only. organisations who send, ....u ally. volunteen to
work in Gh.na. Most or these join the local
Voluntary Workcamps Associalion (whlch has
HOD. Secretary, done remarkable service in rural development
c/o P.O. Box 2856, Accra. .inoe 1956) to work in various pu1I of the
country on various projects - all without pecu_
niary remu.oeeatioD. just ror the joy of Bivina
3
THE LEGON OBSERVER
October 1970
,
"
The perfect lather is the one who
provides for any eventuality. He re-
alises that hiS family must have ado.
II equate help If he is no longer around.
State Insurance exists to help any-
one face thiS problem easily. in the
sImplest and safest way.
EST * 1962
STATE INSURANCE CORPORATION
P.O. BOX 2363 . ACCRA
TEL. 66961 & 21833
Branches throughout Ghana YOUR KEY TO SECURITY
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•
\ •
I
• ,
1970 THE LEGaN OBSERVER 5
guidance. Tra.dition
time bas come for the parents to let their
know that they (the children) owe their
also to the state to which we all belong. BEHIND THE ASANTEHENE'S MAJESI'Y
must DOW let their sons and daughters By
that. in a developing society, being a Kwame Arhin
is Dot merely being foppish, but also ON 27th July. 1970. Baruna Opoku was enstooicd
a volunteer for the state's progress. When as Nuna Opoku \Vare II, Asantehcne. The rega·
have sacrificed their children for the nation~ lia exhIbited on his person and around him must
then they can shout for more state have dazzled the crowds in Kumasi. The glitter
for their sons and daughters . And the of his kingly paraphernalia testified to the imma·
of Lt.·Gen. Afrifa - to help in rural culate workmanship of the Ashanti craftsman.
in his retirement - must serve as But what impressed me most was the ordered
for them too. precision with which the state functionaries rna·
naged the regal progress to the place ot the great
Doing things for Ourselves durbar. The arrangements by which this was done
deserve some commcnt.
is also the time for the students to know People usually associate bureaucratic or ration-
the more they expect from the state the al administrations with liteldte societies; most
they must help the state to produce more people in Ghana would say that it began in this
by volunteering for the state. It they want country with colonial rule. Yet some elements of
to be as happy a place as they would bureaucratic administration, for example a hie-
it to be; if they want the standard of rarchical arraalgement of persons in authority.
in Gbana to be comparable to those ot with specific assignments of jobs. are present ' in
countries they urevere" so much. then they Ashanti. or (or that matter Akan. traditional
help themselves by helping Ghana. Pleasure, administration. It was this that was brought into
must know, like happiness. comes after hard play when the Asantehene went CQl his state jour-
and sacrifice. It is only when we work ney from Manhyia to the stadium. I, a minor
that we can realise the reality of our fUDctionary of the Nsumanl"ra (medicine men,)
as a people. By travelling and volun· group noticed that in a space within about six
to work among people outside our prafes· feet radius of the King. every spot was assigned
and tribe we can gradually break down all to a particular functionary, with a specific job tl)
"," pride and tbe evils of tribalism without do which he would not exchange with another
effort. And we wilt then know more at person oot belonging to his own group of fooc·
other's problems. tionaries. However tired a man was. be held to
his post until he was relieved by a member of his
H we exp~t respect from others we must first own group. There was also a sort of factotum
to do things for ourselves. It is only when
who was responsible for ensuring tbat people
have taken on some unrequited service for
mova! at such a pace that at every momeat th!y
state. when we have "wasted" some of our occupied the appropriate spat ial position.
time for the benefit of some needy people
part of us) without craving for rewards - This was not just being fussy Places around
even thanksgiving - that we can say we are the king wcre allocated with an eye on his requi-
citizens of our motherland, and that we are rements as the procession moved along. SworJ
irolJd of her. bearers had to keep close to the palanquin. becau.
se the king usuaUy held and frequently changed
Political parties may come and go; hard work· the swords with wbkb he danced. Gun~carriers
, as well as lazy, regimes may come and go; were next to the soword bearers because the kmg
and incompetent leadeT3 may come performed dances in the palanquin with the sword
go: so long as Ghana lives ber development and with a small gun. Two repre.xntativC9 at the
survival will always remain the responsibility NSlimankwa group stood close to the sword bear·
all Ghanaians. Not politicians a1one. no, Dot ers because one must hand a bodua (a horse's L1ill
aged alone, d~elop a nation. The progress to the king as he danced, and another was expected
every nation lies on the virile shoulders of to pick up anything that fell off hjs batakari dress.
youth and on the s""sible guidance of bet The holder of a tan had naturaUy to keep close
to the Asaoteh""e. The kyiDitufo (umbreUa holder
no THE LEGON OBSERVER 7
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9
October 1970 TIlE LEGON OBSERVER
JUDICIAL SERVICE
Vacancies for Court Reporters & Court Stenographers
tion or a pass with credit in the
Applications are invited for the post of Court English paper at the School Cert ifi·
Reporter and Court Stenographer.>. catc examination or a pass at the
QWllilicatioos: Apphw.nLS must be Ghanaians and Governmen t Qualifying eumination
must have: in English: and
( I) H ad a good general education and (2) Passed the presc ribed Stenographer
passed at least the School Certificate Grade I examination in shorthand and
examination with credit In English or typewriting at the rate of 100 words
a pass at Ordmary Level in English of per minute for 10 minutes and 40
General Certificate of Education or word.s per minute for 10 minutes res-
must have passed the Govemment Qua· pectively conducted by the Principal
IIfying examlnOltion in English; ar.d of the Government Secreta rial School
(2) Passed the prescribed examination in Sabry: NC7S6.00 x NC36.00 - NCI.044 .x
shorthand and typewriting at the rate of NC48.00 NC1.I4Q.00.
140 words per minute lor 2 minutes STEr"OGR APIiER GRADE 11
followed by 150 words per minute to r Qu.lllificatioos: Applicants must be Ghanaians and
onc minute. a~ "ell as an examination must have pa~sed the prC!'iCribcd Steno- I
in typing at the rate of 50 words per grapher Grade II examination in short-
minute. hand and t)-pcwriting at the rate of SO
Salary: NCI608.00 ~ :C60.00 NCI668.00 x words per minute for 3 minutes and 40 ;It
NC12.00 - NCI956.00 x NC84.00 - words per minute for 10 minutes respcc·
NC2124.00. lively conducted by the Principal of the
Dut ies: To take verbillim reports of Court pro- Gon:mment Secretarial School.
ceedings and t~:l~cribe them. Sabry: l'C540.00 .x l'OC24 .00 NC70S.000.
Dulit'lS For the StenOArnpher; Grade I and n ,
VACAI'iClrs FOR STENOGRAPHER T}ping out formal office correspondence
~ECRETARY lOr.:1uding confidential matters: typing of
Apph\,;;luons are in\'ited for the post of Stenogra- Court proc~edings. Judgments. Order. ..
pher Secretary. ApJ?C~1 Certlficate$ and Appeal Rec(lrds.
Qualificution!'i: Apph..:ant5 must be GhanaLans and AsmtlOg Court Stenographers in taking
mu .. t havC' down note'! in shorthand in Court.
(I) Sc(.·ured a pass In English at Ordinary Method or Application:
I vel ('I~ General Ccrtieate 01 Edu- FortO'! arc ohtainable from the Judicial
_'!ltiC'n nr a credit in English at the Sccret.ary. Judicial Service. Law Courts
Scho'" Ce rtdi.cate or mu~t have passed BUlldlnlZ. PO. Bo'( 119. Accra. The.ioC
tht: (i,\\emmcnt Qualifying Exami- form' .. hould be c(lmpleted and returned
"CltlOn Ln EnglLsh: and n(lt later than 15th Odobcr. 1970. Perlons
(2) Pas~ ..-. d the prt:~cribcd u.amination in now in any or the Public Services may
~h(ll1hand and type" flting at the rate apply (lnly through their Heads of
of 100 word .. per minute for 5 minutes Mini~trie~. Departments or Corporation~
and 50 word~ per minute for 10 mi- Originals of supPClrting document! may
nuteo; re .. pccti\'ei) c(lnducted by the nol be forwarded,
Pnru:II"tal ll£ the GO\l,:rnmcnt Sccn.:- VAC'\''"'''iCrE.1ii FOR TYPISTS GRADES I A1IIffi 0
tanai School, Vacancies c,i~t in the Judicial Sen'lce for Typisu
Salary: NCt.2'\f, .OO x I'C4R.OO l"CI.42S.00 x Grade-; 1 aAd 11,
NCt'>O.OO NC1.668.00 x l"Cn,OO QualifiCllions: AppliGl.nt, must be Ghanaian~ and
NI.740.00. mu't be in po~~c~~ion of either Typist
Duties: To act as Se..:rclarie .. to the Justi Ces of Grade 1 or \I certificate issued by th~
Appeal; deal ~cnerally with COTrC$pon- Principal of the Government Secretarial
denec in the Judi cial SeuctaT)'s Office School.
and 10 supcn.'io;e the Confidential Regis- Sabry: The salary scales which arc non-pension-
try of the Judicial Secretary. able arc: ,
Method or Application: Typiu Grade I: l'iC462.00 x NCIS.OO -
Forms arc obtainal-llc from the Judi cia l NC516.00 x NC24.00-
Secretary. Judicial Service. Law Courts NC540.00.
BuLidin!!', P.O. 80' 119. Accra. The~c Typi .... Grade II: NCAOR.OO '( NelS-OO
fnrm~ ~h('uld he eorrplctcd and returned NC4S000.
not later than I Sth Odohcr. 1970. Person~ Duties: The~ indude tYPing of correspondence
nnw in any (If the Puhlic Senice .. rna)' Judgments. Orders and Appeal Record~'
apply (In!} thh1Ugh their Hcad~ of Metbod of 4pplicntion:
Mini~trH:s. Del"-1.rtmcnto; or Corporations. Any candidate who qualifies in term' or
Original<; of !'>upporting documenb may above may ,uhmit an applic3tion with ..
not be r\ll'w~rdoo c~f'Y of cither Typing Grade I or 11 Cc;"
VAC,\, ,('1£$ FOR STf1'\iOGRo\PUERS tlfica.te t(l the Judicial Secretary. ludici ~I Service. Law Courts Bui1din~ . P.O. Be "I
GR<\OF. I " ;U II 119. Accra. not tater than 15th Octo\-! ~
stt1'\iOGR ,,-PHER GR \OE I 1970; Person, now 10 any of the Pu!;'
Qu2lifieluion.. . : Ap{llicant5 mu .. t be Ghanaians and SCI'\-'LCeS should apply only through Ihc' r
mu'" ha\'e: Heads of MInistries. Departments c"
(I) Sc.:ured • flU" in the Engli .. h f13per
at the General Ccrtifi!;3te of EdU!;3- C<lrporations.
n
1l
, October 1970 THE LEGON OBSERVER
with regret that the country bas even lost ground .
;ouree Planning units in the regIons.
It will however. take time for the Regional Since 14th September this year Sierra Leone
Planning Officers to fit into the Regional Admi· has been under a decbrexi state of emergency.
listrative hierarchy. It will require considerab!c and the condition is replete with all tbe elements:
::CoOrdination to provide the funds needed from arrests and detentions, armed disturbances. report-
;s. variety of ministries and ensure that these ir" ed seizure of passports. ban on meetings - or
t(estments arc all available in the same place (WId reminders about the ban - challenges burled
it the same time. To some extent these problems at the government, government threats o f tougher
have been solved (or small projects by the esta- and tougher reprisals, . . all the unholy crowd of
blishment of the Regional Development Fund, symptoms proclaiming a political break-dowD. Al
which gives funds for each Region to implement the time of our going to press the airwaves and
15 own projects'. However. in many regions these wi res v.ere humming with the reports of attacks
Dds have not been used for integrated projects. by tbe new on the o ld party, of the Prime
d the total sums involved for each region are Minister threatening to take drastic action. of
Diy a small percentage of total investment. complete police take-over moves. and so on.
lt would not even be surprising if by publica-
An attempt is being ma ,'c to co-ordinate r.;.- tion day of this issue of the Observer the ~fate
ional development programmes at the central of emergency has progressed into one o f martial
government level throurh the setting up of '1 law. How and why has all this happened?
Regional Planning Team in the Ministry of ri-
nance and Economic PI ... nning . This team in fae'
achieved little, largely h..:~,·use almost all its mem - Craze For Power?
bers are expatriates 0:1 \''':1)' short contracts. who
have little time to familiarise themselves with There can be no simple minded, monolmea.!
conditions i:l the regi , ns. However, an impressiv!"; explana tion o f politica l phenomena anywhere.
amount of liata is b~:""'~ gathered on a numhcr and the political phenomena of modemisir"
of Regions. It ie; unfortu nate that the planning ill countries arc even morc complex than tbose o f
regional level h,l : "0 'a r gone little further tllan older states, " bad" enough as these certainl )
this prelim:l'l.ary :Na 'a thcring phase. are. Thus if anyone should say of the new Free-
town s ituation that it is " purely" because Sia ka
Steven!:> lrOo, " like all of them", has quic'.::Iy
developed the now established craze for power
Africa and is brooking no opposition or rivalry~ or that
the current return to turmoil is due to indiviJoJ;jJ
inter· or intra-party rivalry; or that it is I.ht"
SIERRA LEO~E: REThRN TO TURMOil. result of tribal tensions. or of the Protectorate
By peoples' unrelenting drive for political ascend-
ancy. or o f Kriolean frustration over their own
K. A. B. JODes-Quartey political submergence while at the 'io!fi!C
• time they remain socially dominant. or tbat it
WHEN Siaka Froby" Stevens was restored m iJ the fault of bribery and corruption. or of
April 1968 to a Premiership he had fairly won poverty and unemployment resulting in Itllll.:h
but which had then been snatched and kept robbery and violence - to any such claim for
away [rom bim until 13 month~ later. we all "the cause" o f the new situation in Sierra Leone
breathed a deep. satisfied sigh of relief and said: the an!wcr should be "Yes. some of th2.t 10("1:
"Thank goodness. that is over and done \ ... ith. but obviously there are other causes".
Sierra Leone has even beaten Ghana" - r .. fher
unexpectedly - "in the race to the goal of a My own priority list of causes for this l<ltc~t
civilian restoration. Now", we added, "under breakdown in political organisation at the Fr~i!·
a strong-mindoo. vigorous political hero of estab- to'hn centre of power in Sierra Leone would
lished principles, the country can move forward. begin with the lack of social cohesion. This. 10
away from the appalling rottenness of the Albert my o\\-n interpretation. gee..-. much beyond the
Margai regime and the bizarre megalomania r)f ever-present "tribal thing", the widespread poli-
J\IJ<on-Smith" _ Alas. polit;cally speaking the hopes tical incoherence and naivete, the economiC and
of almost three years ago have not been realised; lOCial inequalities These factors exist else-
indeed, politically speaking it can be considered where too among all the little develop-
9 October 1970
•
~ eh"n,,-"
h~hing Indu!ilry
c...c!i Aluminium
• f1 .. h·fr~:ting
Ir.l"S,
The brewing industry is another customer.
We are fabricating I ,SOO-gallon capacity
:....- storage tanks for Tiger Pito.
These were designed in our
own drawing office, as were
the 50-gallon tanks for
Pita retail sales outlets./,
100 of which were
also made recently
at our Tema Works.
opened up the field for welded Aluminium
other uses. such as processing palm-oil.
in Ghana as in so many other enlightened
Aluminium is taking over from other
s, in industry as well as in the home, on the
road, on \\ater and in the air.
Where sheet metal fabrIcation
IS concerned, let our expert
designers and craftsmen
solve your problems too. !
We aren't called The .
Problem Solvers for nothing!
A.luminlunl
In Ihe B('cr Indu'itr)!
Contact: .1 gl.lnl l'iOO-g.lllon
Pito ~tor.lg(' (.Ink
Specialty Products Division, d1'\.lrrs .II s-o-gallon
Ghana Aluminium Products Limited, reuil di~p('n!.Cr Un"',
P.O. Box 124, Tema.
Tel: 272S/6j7. J
19-8·7bIUlJ
~~~19~70~ __________~ I~H~R~L=E=G~O:N~~O~BS:E:R~VE~R~ ____L -_____________1 5
\
STAYS FRESHER
LASTS ER
Now you can always have Fan in the
house. Fan Long life in the new rein-
\.
forced pack will stay fresh if un-
opened so you can buy supplies
for a week or more at a time
Don't miss the opportunity to
have FAN with its health giving
ingredients always available.
Buy FAN Long life today-
white or chocolate.
FAN MILK LTDc
1970 TIlE LEGON OBSERVER
fa the rosd at the MUM time as a Presi- Minister bave nOI observed Ibis thing We are
die Prime Miaistcr, or the visiling Head tall<ing about; nor the Inspector-General of
AIlii()ll Anything We bave se", some male Police. nor the Chief of Protocol. It would
of Ibis OOUDtry almost choking wilb reward us all if they did, and used their power
aDd shame. and some women on the verge 10 correcl i~ for il is very real. They bave our
tan. after OIIe of Ibis kind of experience. _teem; we surely merit theirs.
...... in additioa they are sometimes even
obouted al by the outriders. even ",lied "FOOL!" Noa.Aggtusioa , ......1
wbw they bave nol vanisbed quickly enough
out of the sighl of the riding VIPs. Of course. IT is dillicult 10 decide wbicb is {lmnier; the
most of the lime these outriders look terribly ostensible seriousness with which Mister Vonter
ridiculous themselves in their flamboyanl cloak issued bis recent invitation 10 the indepeDdenl
of fteeling authority, bUI one cannol laugh at African States to come and sign Don-aga cssion
them aD the time; one is more often outraged pacts with South Africa, or the fact thaI we know
thaD anmSf'd. he bad bis tongue in bis cheek when making this
stupendous Christian gesture. A great pillar of the
The bead of the police services of Ghana,
Mr. Church and a scion of Calvin's race of religious B. A. Yakubo, bimself the mosl genial and
determinists - Dot to mention bigots - Mister
most polite of men; and the bonourable the
Vorster also apparently fancies himself a great
Minister in charge of protocol, Mr. Osei Bonsu,
bumorist. As such, be must be asked kindly 10
should look inlo and take this matter seriously
in hanel. Otherwise some respectable, sel/-rt'specl- leU us, soon, when and how to laugh at bis Don·
aggression joke.
IlIg ciIIt.DU may 011. day eomidl!r IMt th'JI have
htJd all th'JI could tak., and opmly eMlleng. Of course there's always Friend Kamuzu Banda,
Principal Cheer·Leader and make-up man 10 Ihis
'he police for the reinstallment of their human noted performer in the entertaining arts; perhaps
dignity. Perhaps our President and our Prime we can take our cues from him instead. The Star
use apex
ball point pen I •
•
1970 THE LEGON OBSERVER 19
-
THE LEGON OBSERVER
SUBSCRIPI'ION ORDER
To: T!o! LEooH OOSI!ll.VBa,
P.O. Box II,
Lcaon. Accra. Ghana
Please mail me, [romVol.. ..... No ...... Tm!LaGON OBSBRVBa..
[or . . years· .... .. ......... Months· .
Name . . . . . .. .. .. . . . .. ..'.... . .
(ue .. tX'1r" Li i ,..."
Address . .. .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... .. . . .. . . .. . .
. -.. .. . .. . . .. . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . .. . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . .. .. . . .. . ....
I/W. enclos. payment by MaDey Order /Po,tal Order / International Mon.,
Order / Banker', Draft/Oil"",· for NC ............ L .......... U.S.S ......... Other •
• Crall out items not IlCCCIlUY.
All Cheques, Money O,de,. and Poslal O,ders should be made pay-
able 10 THE LEGaN OBSERVER and crossed.
For Office use only I
Receipt No ... Dote .. C ..b Book 1'01.. .. . .... .
SUBSCRIYIlON RATES
SURFACE A IR
:
6 Months 1 Year 6 Months 1 Year
Ghana l"C!60 NClOO
Alrica 30.'-• 5ll- 38 1- 70/-
u K 301- ... l ll- ""1- 1WI-
E urope 301 -
60;~ 84 1- 1601-
u S.A S430 S860 $1200 SHOO
Can ada S4JO S860 SI2.00 SHOO
1970 TIffi LEGON OBSERVER .~I'
ET THE
Your Advertisements
Must Give Good Returns
The 'Legon Observer' takes you
to the People who take Notice.
Advertise I• n
the "Legan
Observer"
23
THE LEGON OBSERVER
clober 1970
•
Beware of imitations
• 100% WOOD FREE
SUPER SOFT
• 100% NON-ABRASIVE
WET STRONG
• 100% MAXIMUM
PERFORATED COMFORT
• 100% CHEMICALLY
ANTISEPTIC FREE FROM
LIME
AVAILABLE FROM ALL LEADING STORES
SANITARY PAPER PRODUCTS LTD.
POBOX 572R FACfORY MILE 6, NSAWAM ROAD ACCRA .
2 S OC'" 1970
server
Forttll.btly
23 October-5 November 1970 Price ISnp
I. V No. 22
EDI701tlAt
THIS ISSUE
THE FUfURE OF THE U.N.
HE BUDGET AN English commentator broadcasting to the world the other
day said of the United Nations that it had perhaps reached
the end of its road in its present form at the centre; it would
D THE most likely. he opined, quietly phase Itself out and be S.JT-
vived by. as \liell as survive in, its far-Hung agencies:
W.H.O .. F.A.O .. V .N.! C.E.F.. U.N.E.S.C.O .. and the rest.
SURCHARGES He considered tbat the U.N. had done all it could ever 10, and now just had to wither away, leaving the smaller, m'Jre
practical. less unwieldy sub-organisations to get on with it-
like the League of Nations dying a natural death and beiog
1 survived by tbe Word Court and the I.L.O. This prophet
of doom was not only predicting tbe gradual withering away
Future of the V.N of the state of tbe United Nations, but was also suggesting
2 tbat by constitution, by tbe very nature of its development. ECONOMY
and by tbe enormity of its problems, our second world
cations of the 1970 Surcbar&e organisation for peace bas no greater survival potential or
IK,. . n" Adjcl ability than bad the first. However. he did sound as if all
pun,dng Cheques and the Economy this would be a pity. and that we would most of us somehow
Ackom Mensah be sorry and sad to see the U.N. die. At least that we
.hould be.
16
We have called tbis commentator a prophet of doom. and
~cial Discrimination In America rightly so, on any groundS positive or negative. But the fact
Jawa Apronti is, even its greatest well-wishers must find it difficult at times
to believe in the survivability of the U.N.; on the other hand.
20 even its most shallow critics must find it extremely easy to
~iscO<":'I,ti"nl About Fanuly Plannin. dismiss the organisation as moribood at birth and doomed
G. M. K. Kpcd.kpo from the beginning: the critics. plus that noble army of
NOTEBOOK 22 cynics and sceptics who are always out to reduce anythmg
Merger human to scorn and ridicule. "Look". they would say. "at
Jaunts IR the United Statd the veto power. Look at the spectacle of the big fish 2nd
Sierra Leone Situation the little fish pretmding to be living peacefully together in the
one pond Remember Korea, Algeria. the Belgian
25 Congo. Nigeria. And what about Vietnam? .... Also how
and the United Nations long do you consider this sick body can survive the ch~.rtty
lokes? of the United States alone: or the contempt of France; or
~~~~L~~; the uncheckable defiance of South Africa. backed by the overt P l~dependent .. 25 or "Solo";) --. '1 and covert support of tbe big western powers; or tbe writhings
Kontoplut --;- of tbe Africans and the Asians and the South Americans?
Now all this may be so. and there is no use in optimists
In Our Next Issue deceivLng themselves about the security of this 25-year-old testimony to human weakness. confusion. blundering and
THE opPOSmON culpability. This condition will continue; nor can we ourselves
-enlll (OlIlDItDDton UIImioe die stnIcture
p..t visualise a oomplete conquClt. soon. of the negative human rahlre of mlDoriry political IfOUpiop
la traits which mi1itate against a condition of peace. Robert Gbaoa aod Africa.
Ardrey. rc·echoillg and rephrasing both predeo:ssors and c.>Q.
•
" 1970 THE LEGON OBSERVER
J
(among others)
Good aews
ror picnic lovers!
A ~~,~t,~of~.~portablc
co is now
is biS business, and Ghana's fishing under de\icJopment
I", is the biggest in West Africa. at Ghana Aluminium.
successful fishing industries depend on
modern hygienic handling and storage
!nt-particularly in the tropics, where"'-
can take place very rapidly.
is where /Ghana Aluminium comes in. We
~_ '/ ' manufacture aluminium
-..:: - fish-handling
.... ~ /' equipment
that is light, .... ,-
/" but strong enough to withstand
...,....r I'corrosive marine working conditions
#. and the rough-and-tumble of trawler
.,/"' and cold storage freezer-rooms.
We recently made 300
--- aluminium fish-freezing trays
for Mankoadze Fisheries Limited
at Tema, bringing the total supplied
by Ghana Aluminium to the local
fishing industry to well over 3000!
'-.
We solved the problem for
Mankoadze Fisheries Limited.
May we solve your problem
as well ?-we aren't called The
Problem Solvers for nothing!
,""tn,..
of Contact:
F bri . Specialty Products Division,
Ghana Aluminium Products I.imited,
P.O. Box 124, Tema:
Tel: 2725/6/7.
1970 THE LEGON OBSERVER 5
STAYS FRESHER
LASTS
Now you can always have Fan in the
house. Fan Long life in the new rein-
\,
forced pack will stay fresh if un-
opened so you can buy supplies
for a week or more at a time
Don't miss the opportunity to
have FAN with its health giving
ingredients always available,
Buy FAN Long life today-
white or chocolate.
FAN MILK LTD,-
13 October 1970 THE LEGON OBSERVER
7
i
i
I
,
I
Idbe \ ,
•
• -
ROLLS ROYCE COMFORT ,
, The smooth effortless purr of 30,000 hp
.... Rolls Royce jets, brings new standards , ,
, to our trayel. W. somehow MOnoge
to moke every passenger f.el as relaxed •
01 though he were in his own bed. -
Fly with us to LONDON via ROME and see -"
if your time ever passed more smoothly. •
• ••
I
WE'RE UP IN THE AIR ABOUT YOU --
October 1970 THE LEGaN OBSERVER 9
JUDICIAL SERVICE
Vacancies for District Magist rates G rades I & II
Vacancies exist in the Judicial Service for District Magistrates
Grade I and District Magistrates Grade II.
DISTRICT MAGISTRATES GRADE I
~UALIFICATIONS:
Applicants must be Ghanaians, enrolled on the Roll of Lawyers in
Ghana, and be of at least 3 years standing as legal practitioners.
SALARY:
l"he salary, which is pensIOnable, is NC4.000.00 x NC200.00 -
NC6,OOO.OO. Candidates with (a) a University Degree plus 3 years'
professIOnal experience or (b) 5 years' professional experience with-
Ollt a University Degree will be entitled to commence at NC4.000.00.
DlJTlES:
Th~ ~ include the trial of cases both criminal and civil, conducting
preli~ nary enquiries in more serious criminal cases, acting as
Coron~;. and ex-officio Commissioners for Affidavits and as
Notaries Public, and also being responsible for the preparation of
lists of Jurors.
DISTRICT MAGIST!1.ATES GRADE II
QUALIFICATIONS:
Applicants must be Ghanaians. enrolled on the Roll of Lawyers in
Ghana, and be of at least 18 months standing as legal practitioners.
SALARY:
The salary scales which are pensionable are:
(a) Candidates with University Degree NC3.800.00 x NCIOO.OO
- NC4,OOO.OO x NC200.00 - NC5.000.00
and
(b) Candidates without University Degree NC3,600.00 x NClOO.OO
- NC4,OOO.OO x NC200.00 - NC5,OOOOO.
DUTIES:
These WIll. among other thmgs, be trial of cases both criminal
and civil, acting as Coroners and also being responsible for the pre-
paration of lists of Jurors.
METHOD OF APPLICATION:
Forms are obtainable from the Judicial Secretary, Judicial Service
Law Courts Building. P. O. Box 119, Accra. These should be com:
pleted and returned not later than the 14th November. 1970. CandI-
dates in any of the Public Services should apply through their Heads
of Ministries. Departments or Corporations. Only copies of support-
ing documents may be forwarded .
~~~1~9~ro~ __________~ IH~:E2L~E~G~ON~O~BS==E~R~VE~R~ ___________________1_1
observer is Jed to conclude that there cheques. It is common to hear Ghanaiao bm.i-
fundamentally wrong somewhere nessmcn complaining of their being denied credit
people's integrity is called into question, uo- or loan facilities, and there is no doubt
or maybe blatantly. by these notices. some substance in this complaint. But the fault.
be advised tbat the Cashier is not dear countrymen, may not lie in the oft-assumed
to accept cheques. unless same are wickedness or discriminatory attitude of the
by the Credit Controller", runs one such banks. but rather in our businessmen's inability
at a popular motor workshop in Accra. to make tbeir word their bond.
another establishment (state-owned) one reads In an unpublished study undertaken by the
>old letters a f a conspicuous place: writer at the Harvard Business School in the
repair accounts must be settled IN CASH academic year 1965/66. for the purpose of iden·
vehicles are taken from the workshop ..." tifying the factors leading to investment by inter-
as jf for the avoidance of doubt the notice national firms in Gbana, Nigeria and Sierra
concludes: "Cbeques can no longer Leone, business houses abroad with interests in
accepted". On display in a Legan Senior the three countries were polled on a number of
Room bar is the very latest of these points. To the question: "What record have the
"IN GOD WE TRUST All Others Pay country in general and its business-men in parti-
cular in honouring investment or business com-
.I!~'~ !;~es like these are a familiar sigbt in most mitments?". the respondents were asked to rate places. public and private. Where no each country's record as being "Very Good".
signs are displayed (as at tbe Customs and "Good", "Fair". or "Poor". Gbana regretfully
~,~:~ Department) one can be sure of being received a low rating. Whereas Nigeria received
11 told in words to that effect. if an attempt a rnting of 71_1'-0 favourable and Sierra Leone
made to settle an account by cheque. How 56%. Ghana could boast of only 20% at Ihe
I~:~~t~' and inconvenient the insistence on time. This is a crude index of how some business-
t by cash can be is perhaps epitomised by moo. in the United Kingdom. Europe and America
experience of a Ghanaian traveller at a local placed our country in general and our businesl)-
of disembarkation. when he has some duty men in particular. in tbe scale of honesty and
taJ[ to pay and his cheque is unacceptable! reliability.
bsuing Bogus Cheque. Efleets of Exchange Control
The main inference from the "No-Cheque- The analysis is. of course. subject to • big
notices is that the business houses qualification. The study was undertaken at n
leamt from bitter experience that it is time when Ghana's political and economic repu-
risky. if not altogether imprudent. to rely tation was at its lowest ebb. The isolation of the
cheques. which are after all only promises to direct effects of exchange control would have
..y . And since in our Ghanaian environment it somewhat improved Ghana's score considerably .
the educated (or sophisticated) section of the Be that as it may. the message is unmistakably
which invariably mjoys the privilege clear: the sooner the average Ghanaian business-
owning and issuing cheques. the refusal of man appreciates the importance of honesty. in-
houses to accept cheques in settlement tegrity and rational behaviour in business. the
accounts is. to say the least. a sad oommco- beller it will be for the health of Ghana's eco.
la'1 on the cream of our society. Something is nomy. Unless this is realised and positive steps
efinliteiiy wrong somewhere! It calls for a protest. taken to improve the situation. credit-giving will
bener still an investigation. It is of course understandably continue to be withheld or grud-
that the majority of decent people gingly exercised by the commercial banks and
having to bear the brunt of the misdeeds of other institutioDS.
influential minority. Whether or Dot this is so. Cheques are negotiable instruments. and ftot·
situation should arouse righteous anger cry- wit}1standing their universal acceptance as near-
in • popular demand for alliecUve money. they are still not legal tender. A cheque
is a bill of exchange drawn on a banker anj
II i.I wrwg 10 assume that oaIy individuals payable on demand or to the order at the drawe.:
an: guUty of issning lIogus cheq ..... We andeT· or creditor is Dot boood. except by his own agree·
""ad thaI 0 DlDOher of firms and companies - ment or oonsent. to aa::ept it in settlement of an
puticularly smon and aewly-estab1ished ""siDe« account Our business houses are therefore
"';11 - CIOIltribute 0 lot to the spate of bouaciDg within their rights in refusing to aca:pt cheqUCi.
October 1970 THE LEGON OBSERVER
13
•e .
I'm worried
because I shall
retire in a few years
and I haven't any ,
savings on which
to re I y. "
"I'm not
worried"
The money from my
Endowment Assurance
with the Guardian Royal
Exchange Assurance
Group will look
after me."
Can You look Forward to a happy re-
tirement with freedom from \Vorry ab-
out money? If not you should contact
our ~Ir. Quayson, in ,\ccra (Tel. 64991)
or ~Ir. ~lllne, in Kumasl (Tel. 2325)
or Mr. SIms In Takoradi (Td. 2035)
or Wf\te to
Guardian Royal Exchange Assurance Group
COMPRISING
GUARDIAN ASSURANCE COMPANY LIMITED
ROYAL EXCHANGE ASSURANCE R
GHANA POST OFFICE SQUARE, ACCRA
1970 TIlE LEGON OBSERVER 15
Thirdly, some liquidated damages may be preceding years. This statement should be takeD
~,~ as automatic compensation to a creditor into account along with other factors in deciding
~ in possession of a dishonoured cbeque. on the import and/or foreign exchange allocation
" .." his incidental expenses. to be granted. This may sound punitive but it is
way of safeguarding drawers of cheques felt it would help curb the tendency to issue useless
the suggested new legislation must pro· cheques with impooilY.
that for the criminal provisions to apply tbe We appreciate that whilst legislation would un-
or holder of a cheque must present or De· doubtedly help improve the situation, the answer
it within a reasonable period not exceed- to the problem ultimately lies in proper and effec-
month from the date of receiving the cbeque tive civic education of the citizenry-particularly
the right to negotiate a cheque. the young--on the urgent need for honesty and
cheque must be presented within a mooth dependability in our person-to-person relation-
the date of its issue or with a reasonable ships. Honesty is a vital key to economic progress
and a necessary ingredient in national develop-
~;:,l:;~; worthwhile provision would be a re- mmt.
t l that all bank cheques should have thl! One looks forward to the day in Ghana when
of the customer legibly printed before they a wallet containing money lost on say a public
i5sued by the bank to the customers. This transport system vehicle will not be pocketed bv
I~~;~~., which prevails in most countries. would the finder. with special thanks to Almighty God
J.. or rather mirlimise the practice of certain or Allah. but will rather find its way back to Its
getting hold of other people's cheque true owner through the Police Service. This should
and issuing cheques therefrom with Impu M not ~ an Utopian dream or forlorn hope. [t
should not sound far-fetched. because we know
it to be happening everyday in other countries.
Establishing Credit Bureau It is already happening on a modest scale .in this
Ghana Chamber of Commerce may use- country.
consider establishing a Credit Rati!'lg Bureau Honesty is certainly a good policy, particularly
adjunct to its other activities. Such a Bureau in business. And it is aUf national responsibility
I provide credit interchange service. With the to ensure its presence and protection in all busi-
. opcl·at"on of participating member firms. banks ness dealings. Let us act now to promote honesty
other suppliers, the Bureau would compile in business by safeguarding. through legislative
and other mean,;. the ooiversal practice of settling
f~(~:!r;data on the relevant paying habits of
t particularly firms and companies, and accounts by ch.:que.
t ,:e the information available, in confidence. to
members. In time It is hoped that specialised
ICflc;,,, would spring up in the country to provide WANTED IMMEDIATELY
t·f<,tin.g services to our business community.
the meantime, it may be useful for, say, the EDITORIAL ASSISTANT
of Administration t'O undertake an on- for the
rC!';earch icllO the debt-paying habits of our
~';nc,·;s communit),. This is a piece of research LEGON OBSERVER
may be sponsored by the ministry responsi- SALARY:
for the promotion of Ghanaian business. According to qualifications and
The Income Tax. Decree has made it obligatory expertence.
,rn accountants. lawyers and other professional to obtain Tax Clearance Certificates before QUALIFICAn ONS:
~ey can have their Practising Certificates renewed At least G.C.E. Advanced Level with
their professional bodies. credit in English at O.L. Expe;ience
It is suggested that the principle be u\ended to in Journalism would be an advan-
business houses by requiring that the applica- tage.
for an annual import or foreign exchange Applications to:
II~~ should be accompanied by an authen- The Editor,
CI statement from the applicant's bankCs). Legon Observer.
the Bank Clearing House. showing the number P.O. Box 11.
dishonoured cheques and amount(s) involved. Legon, Accra.
any, isoued by the applicants in lhe immediately
17
!Ctober 1970 THE LEGON OBSERVER
•
•
•••
• but Lufthansa wouldn't I
This happy sItuatIon comes about by
our Mickey Mouse Service.
In child terms this means a Mickey
Mouse girl to play with. In our terms
It means a child-lover - mums each
one of them.
We love the httle darlings. Even
when they empty mum's handbag,
pamt lipstick on the seat and strip
down to their nap pIes.
Also we spend more on games and
toys than any other airline. This helps
to keep the little ones out of your ear.
Mum's ear too.
Very little ones use very bIg nappies.
So we lay them both out on a specIal
nappy table to be found In one of our
toilets . WhIch makes mum feel at
home when there are no Mickey
Mouses about
As we said. we love loving the
htre ones. and what you love doing
you do awfully well .
Of course' Only the little ones may
play WIth MIckey Mouses.
Lufthansa
• • •
1970 TIlE LEGON OBSERVER 19
•
,
•
•
• -
••• em
er
Backed by the latest engineering tech
niques of world famous Westinghouse
of America , thiS high capacity room air - ,
condrtloner IS bUilt to ensure maaimum
cooling efficiency _
Completely a s sembled In Ghana, the
advanced Espace room aircondrhoner
has .all the features for quality and ele -
gance. and after sales -service will gua ·
rantee Espace is truly the most modern -AU! 80'U,(
room aircondltioner you can buy
Made In C I'- ana under Westinghouse
license by Cacri (Chana) Ltd.
Sold by TECNOA and sen/Iced In ther,
well -eqUipped workshops
at Accra, Terna, Kumasi. Takoradi
Special Bonus to purchasers - 1 year Free maintenance contract by Teena_
• •
\cera : P.o. 80,559 lal.or:ad, Po.lio\!71
r('ma~ P.o. 80\ -175 ~uma .. i PO 811'\ I'H-'
21
:tober 1970 THE LEGON OBSERVER
;'
Beware of imitations
• 100% WOOD FREE
UPER SOFT
•
100% MAXIMUM
• COMFORT ERFORATED
100% CHElmCALLY
• FREE FROM LIME
•
AVAILABLE FROM ALL LEADING STORES
SANITRY PAPER PRODUCT LTD.
23
wI- 7: ncom- ,i _iris pow .....0 _ 10 be ......k - they wiD
die of ill fuM. del •• Ibe well .Haul Rsp cc t of their COUDtry
poIic'lI, 'aIt" w"o"a'l d .. to aD aod lite .... of pcu' iIy. lie o ••' lIy .. !be people
4,*,' 01 tile diappoiDhi lit which the 'DIe I eo.!
..... "'MUJ~ to have SO l1IUSiveIy
... JJ " .... lIrouPt upon them'. ON Monday of this our C:Olllmenla~
Jac dilIicuIties Slem Leone alfairs was presenl in the bouse when ,...,..,1Jld the that
i·. .... would he these w. ... tbe legIslature of thai once more disturbed ooun-puty moo!: said
were try debated and passed the Prime Minisrcr's mo-but lbe leaden determined 10
tion thaI tbe bouse sbouId "8''' "!bal a state of
emergency exists in Sierra leone". Our reporter-
TIre Couslituliou of Ghana. the sum of our commentator could not stay for the passage. oext
a:pa ieuce .. visioD of the future. envisages day. of a follow-up act inden.tifying the govern.
as pan of our fundamental law: we ment or Siaka Steven, and his ministers for anv-
that it is • requisite of good government thing they had done in the performance of ~ir
we ..., it. .. one of the guarantees of liberty tJulies under a state of emergency whicb bad in
in aU its dUDellsioos - which has become an laet I",en declared as long ago previously as 14th
Jnicle of faith for aU Ghanaians. September. In spite. however. of the early return
news ~ Gbana of OUf :Jbserver. it was yet too late for The of the merger. then. must be welcome
him to have prepared his material for this issue
both those who are sceptical about the pro-
aood of our paper. in continuation of the series he of intenlions by politicians and
1oJr., started in our last number. His full report will to those who. though prepared to believe in tberefore appear in Vol, V/23.
sincerity of these professions. are all too
I. ...... Meanwhile. a summary of the present situation that to err is buman. and also aware of
in Free~own would not be out of place. The par_
tmdenc:y of power to corrupt even the most
hament s confirmation of the state of emergency
.....h Ie of ..-.
means that the leaders of the oppositional (on.'es
There is no doubt that Ihe opposition has Ire- arrested and detained about two weeks ago will
lI. .k lous odds to face: they apparently bad no remain in prison indefinitely; secondly. that the
CIId of trouble agreeing on tbe merger. There is babias corpus writs previously filed for hearing
nothing particularly strange about this. Politi- by lbe eouns could hardly now proceed: and
cians are nothiog if not ambitious. and Ghana- thirdly that other action against the suppression
lIDS laid to think of panies as investment ventures for instance. of a IIOC(:tion of the press and of th~
wbidI must sooner or later yield dividmds. new United Democralic Party lormed by Karda-
ladcrsbip in that eventuality wins the biggest Sman. Foma and o.bers. would be difficult to
dividmd of aU. And if the different parties bad mount. The government. that is to say. is now
bJ , well and truly founded. there should bave assured of a period of '~ranquility" mainlaincJ bv
b 'difficulties over the compromise involved the use 01 tbe anned forces and lbe police. Fu~
ill !be merger On. can only hope that. baving tbennore. the indemnity just won by the ruJjn~
acoepted the principle of unity. the leaders of the party. in addition to the confirmation of the emer-
""_ puty wiD work it out. gency. means that the government for the time
The being has little to lear looking .ither backwa'll. difficulties that they will face wiD not aD
.*. .... or forwards. he of their own npking. Mr. Joe Appiah IDCII-such difficulty at th. conf.r. ..." '. The oppoDCnts of the Prime Minister naturally
1biI ia Ibe weIJ.kDowo tehdenc:y of Ghanlit. to consider that this IS a further demonstration of
to the aide of the ... baItaIious. to turn the CGrltCthl:SS of their amviction that Mr. Si lka
..1 0 • brJ d end_buner oIfair. and 10 Stevens is more than already on the high road
tile ,. xc fgJ for the ,uccellsful I*1Y 10 the establish..-t of yet anotb&r African die-
II t6 'boAII 10 dIop triey' and also to share tatonbip H"1S partisans. on tbe other hand. assen
fEI ............. 01 YUity' with veheillence that tile Prime Mini .. ter would
_noitn h ave been .00th his litle. or be"" able to .-. I-t -• opiIeo..~ Lof-.~ '.d.=' ~.'.=' -Jc="~..:".:iIl._~th..e n.'." .a d his posiIioa or protecl the country. if he """'- -- !be - ~ 10 • -~ bad _ ac:ted the _y be did to con.rol and con-
.. .... h11i teiD a situation rapidly building up to expIos;on
C ., 0lIl *: ... die p' PCCII of i*OPC&IiUos a"'deJs of the 0111 ttl will be
• .• , ••-••
to ad pi,. abwt A,' ..... A 1m. PI r. .. _. h .. Pwl11zoSJlII ....
l1li& II ...,.. TIle two lID ..... .h ..• .. 11:. a.l.. 'a" Wi I other w •• 11:' s ,.. bat It what all. for a. .... tilDe db. ......
II Nsta'" 1deo. ....1 J 2.,. dN. W. CD il r CHna ,M • ia that .... COiWropia u bilk PI DOt ...,.. of what ... de IS bat OD 1M
IIut it iI 0DIy a very aai. .. bap' of what tlllir In' II ay; D_Otc "I =Iun 01. ... ___ Wire 01 die .." IMtioa &ad II'tOIudoa. which .. btl in IIIIIw:t iI' aut but 011.
of that MIlIcI. tbr nmprJIC which ~ny hIr cnm cultural
tic • die .........doD. tI¥)U)d IIIDIl. ..a om.. - 1'be fatuto of tile worlel it clefJnitely .., ,"II up with
die w" '.. Do "" DOt compromilt Orin, 100, and tile Unitecl Nations CPOMt eoDdD.UO
or fica"''' of action by this 10 cut and perfOIlD fruitfully wllbaut embnrinl
of lupitality? WiD tile obliptims due China ill ill fold. Aina II fut tic c ~""Inl • mper-
10 d!.w:Jrs DDt bave lUIy iepercus. poaer aad tbr earlier bar impom"CII we .. leCPI"tn,
CIa CIIIJ' _tioaa with tile beuefactor? Do we in the comity of nations. tIac bodlt it would he iat.
10 compoOd'ioe tile wbole COUDUY jusl tho latIDrcst of worki JlI''''. •.0 ....... 5' lOs
fe!i<;latioa of a few iDdividuals wbo .~ .t._
bora_ of their public posiJioDs?
.'" ilpo,,"JaJive poinlS bul they N AIlE 1 J 'wf
SIR - Did )'IOU nOi deviate from the truth in your
theae docs seem to be reasooab~ article "Non.Agreaion Jou.. .. beca. .. Mister VOJl;
..-ods for lIIJIllOiIiDII thaI ministerial secrotaries tel' did in fad lid bis non-agrarion pad idea from politicians in Ghana, that is. the propoundcn of the
be bolter employed al home. How does it "dialope conc:cpt" _ Thi. lUI mOD i. evidatccd by the
that of some local councils
Iongt:' movmw:nt in and out of our Casale by Mister Vonter"1 p..111 sUI. dIy b. , unpaid for as six mmenaen and Ibcir camat claire 10 alwaY' polO with
wiliMOUt the minister knowing? Is an ollr politicians at international pthcrinp, to show their
that ministerial secretaries. generally. master at home that tbey are at the job to convert
IJIDIIIb travel. rale those a.us men to the Vonter idea. DOt do 01 lily in
"moe AkenM I 'T_ 1, A. 0, +. liN'". ",hleb ""Iuirod Iint·baud know· • .0 ......
for die (OIlMtioa &ad execution of policy? T_
_ lid to die governmenl thaI the su...
to poUtical poriI tieo in u\Jer ",Ha""" upon
_IS, partic:ularly in matters thaI have Miscellaneous
do with ptlOOS in the back of beyond. GHA A: INDF.PEN.,D. ENT OR '"OILO'"7
Ita 'aG Ka .. ,I 7
Letters WE OF Kontoplaatkrom cannot really dc1crmiDe what
ICarl MIlH is up to tbene days_ Not only did be receady
appoint one of the citizen, of Kontapiaattrom u
.... V ..' . *'0. a member of the Sb.dow Cabiaet of his Party. tho
_ - "0.d. e. .. CI rl Ml of dare 2'th aMivenary of the Aspro Party. (inci. ......1 y IiDa: !be Party Is not ..... VMlI • J 7, tbo moat conspicuous paradox of ill in Parliament., we think the Cabinet should be more
..., .'" • it DOt ill ..... now ....... cd faiJu.. 10 appropriately called !be Ghost cabinet) but be .....
.#' w _dII J I'V, but ill continucci den;.1 of cs1Cndcd lUI invitation to the chief of Koatopiaatkrom
.? " to... People', Republic of Chi.. (eo.. to tend a deleaation of two to the SlcDGd hpubUc',
'I ad ) Wby diet .. Uaillld NatioDl reject fint I.IlDivcnary cclcbntioJu at bia OWD. eqoeDM. This
a' ... for mcmbenbip in 1949. utd bas mYitatioo ...... of coune rudlly accepled. IDd at a
• _ CNI, year pi"., meetiq of the noble dtiaw of the yjn.. at the
0.. of 1M pi_pel arr W'II ...I nrc CbiDa', Ptlm Wine ...... K_ ODd K_ KoalDpiu~
• S 'f iado tile Vain I N,dou in ber rote ia die .. one would G)Wl were ItluUd to "pi LInt Konla -
.. r .. aU+ ......... ' ....r tbo a", ~ll of piuttrom at .... orIebndta· W. were Ibrilled to
.. " !: • Madans Wbat ... 0,1_ dkI iD *19. 52.. lad _ CJW' ..d ,al ill Ac • dw Karl Mun bad ,ot _" i 7 did ill 1M2 ill ... 0 hn ... brritaIMJDI for • 10 III d .. FootbrD matlCb at the
.. _ .. " I Ia. VIr.. : ....." '_ ... Accra • n .... Fhr MiIIIuy Parade at a place called
R ., .. I,. .. 'I' .. C ~'a' Katie ... SIu S:z .. ad .,11, the Cecttail Party
.. wr ..., .' .... UN Ilia; •••,
_ at till II II AJIPUI8dJ there was a fourth -.:,.a. .I0 'A _ 77 £1. to 0 £. NlC" .,., 'sU ·.. Ibn .... In, n. to which we were not e., a IS 'so ~ IWI at. .pal IhOy explained that be
.., a II S fill till hi ' ..
hS ..... ,' .., ,, , ... & - - ... oar ..... dodu would pall as ... far .. die • .... Ie I ..... but be ...... WOllied sta. IIaw _ Cbl 'I ... with the food ,;""oc WI J4"::':'=':':sm:d~~• .. WI 71 DDt .. e& • ., to tr*1e it with our Irrl.II I ," ... h1 \'II'" • II .. 7 'JC 7ke ia XOCIl'",""Woaa. AaJ • .,.
27
October 1970 THE LEGON OBSERVER --
-- -- , ~ " I
,
- - .-- I
s.· pF
.on ._
••
.,-~.
t.. __ ..... I
Your ~O@[}{)'ITD [X]&~tID ~&!m in Ghana
• •
Ghana Commercial Bank ,
• • •
There are other banks in our problems on letters of credit,
country, but none which has travellers cheques, foreign ex-
such close links with its people change, and advice on economic
as we. And with our interna- development projects and invest-
tional connections in Britain, the ment are easily solved.
continent of Europe, U.S.A. and
Asia plus a special relationship When in Ghana contact any of
built on special knowledge, your our 9S branc-hes. -
, : \
Commercial Bank
HEAD OFFICE.
P.O. BOX 134.
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L-__________________LO_"_"D~ ON OFFICE, •• ~MCH APsmF ________________________________________. ..
-9 N(,' 1970
I , server
FortDI!lhUy Orptl of tbe ulon Society 00. Nahoul Main
V No. 23 6 - 19 November, 1970
Price 15np
'11" ISSUE
2
Sort of Opposition?
3
Parties in Africa
Assimena
Differences Between Gmcmment •
Y. Asamoah •
Parliament
Problems Faciol
Opposition
Afreb
•
RVER NOTEBOOK 18
P.M. in London and New York.
South Africa Arms Affair
Prime Minister's Visit to legon
Leakages
21
Effects or the SUrChaf&e
Family PJannin& (2)
in the Volta Region
and Oauaa God.
SUPPLEMENT •
COl-"'U1lJDtnt aDd Oppoeitioo in Sierra
LeoGe - The Ooud" Re·form
•
- K. A 8. Jonc\.Quartcy
I
loci] e'IC'" wo"Jd liM'I" are i ruled u odd.
The ..... .,.,. for this distaste at beins in the
miDority are maDy. In Africa, politics bas lJrousbt
I sileo. wbat is required is careful considerable rapid transformation in !be life styIeI
tI• •. .,., aDd IObeI po1iey state!)' uta. and economic situations of several people. And il
will _ke 110 impaa OIl the coun· is recognized that the African governments bave,
II Cit fanciful statanclltl of policy literally. the power to affect the economic forllllleS
flaml>Oyant and iDc:omprebensible of men. Very few Africans, in this transitional
period of social change and shifting values. are
apparently able to slalld on their own withoul
the sbelter of migbty trees. Consequently ia n;)
area is the manipulation and operation of politicaJ
patronage as effective as iA developing coun-
tries where tbe governments' involvCI1lCnt iD cct'"'
nomic activities are ubiquitous and wide ranging
MlNORll"Y PAitIIES IN AFRICA The lobbying for positions IS said often to teke
very mean forms. and often to give rise to near-
By slavish master·servant relations which tum ~me
Max Assimcng beneficiaries into something of a leader's persoaal
property.
the legitimate expression of dissmt
~:: COIISiderabie room in traditional Afru;an Opposition Groupings
~ stru. . tures. the modclo institutionalization
opposif on on lines of conflicting ideological Modem African nation, may be classified accor-
is largely a ney... evolved phenomenon, ding to the extent to which institutionalized oppo.
new approach draw .. in:;.piration more from sition is acknowledged. In places where one-party
democratic politics than from traditio!"l(l:l syst .. ms have legal sanction. such as Tanzania.
culture. Until f:lirly recently, what ob· Ug:;nda. Algeria. U.A.R .. Guinea. and latter-dav
in the conduct of African political arrange:· Ghana under Nkrumah. opposition is officially
1"'::;I'w::as n almo ;>b .. rc of conscnsocracy. as trca50n. Then we have thoS'! areas where oppo.
I' \: ould call i" So much ...... 0; sition can exist. but where the very ineffectiveness
attitude . 'n J in the spirit of traditiondi of its operation makes the countries virtual, but
Afncan politic th t en up to the present. many involuntary, one party states. A powerful govern.
Africans t 11 look su piciouslyon the intentions "f ment, however much it may favour the existence
auy iDdividu I who. of his own free will. choosc~ of opposition. can hardly be so kind as to be
to be permanently aligled with an enduring. but expected to do the opposition's organizatiOlJal
more or less fixed, minority grouping. bomework for it. Zambia. and the regional eas
By and large. the human tendency to move in vemments of pre<oup Nigeria. fall iDto this cate.
!be cin:Ies of power is quite strong; especially In gory. When we consider the present political see,.
.....i D. ...y Africa. the tendency is even st"",!!Or in Ghana, the situation is. again different. In Gha .
~ICI"" !be reallOlls for wbi<:b people align tbem· na opposition groupings of sorts exist. some )f
__ in politics are more materialistic than them led by apparently honest and eminent men. ... J-. Self interest. ratller t .... D con.munity wei. but eacb of these groups on its O"D has v.ry
fare. is '_"8Uy the ..p ane detenniDing factor, Iitde chance-yet-for gaining power. Hence the
a .te of various rationl1i"tiCIIIS to the contrary. long. protracted. and as yet inconclusive attempt
And ...... we ....t i.. that many people hesitate to come together. As 1I$1'al. of course, certain
• If. theJ )lUlke Jut miDule ..... jpon. OIl ..r ty individuals. with wbat might be regarded .' S
!bel we _ bow aD 1m Is or IIeetin& 'minority penonaIity iyDdromo'. ...uld waut to
mto ale" ..l cuIatlms In· keep d lir putieI .....I e from any such am,l.
.... dr. aN ••, '" wbo caD be braad-
.-........ eA' C 'c ..... fa ... i ,cct,. bmw.' II For !be I00I1 II !be interest or Ibis essay is in .,i -~ ,., IPI opoarpt.i.e... dch IS what is now left of Ghana's to hi 1I• AD Repn~IicaD Party-for which the
.1.1.. ........,. .. u. ._. or pJAer, tJuough constitutional mean., .......... • I '1 ~ by ........1 culc1dation • We ........... mill)' whicb
VER s
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7
THE LEGON OBSERVER
......b e< 1970
•
To .... .. ' .
.. gi"e~~y'oo~a ' I
· Fair Deal!
• 1,
(Ghana) •
I
lUlve p leasure in announcing I
that they • al'e offering a
r
Should any customer have a complaint clearly ,••
attributable to faulty manufacture, such as
•
mechanical failure. faulty refills, such pen ,
should be returned for FREE REPLACE· •
MENT to the Sales Organisation:
,
DEVAG LIMITED
p.O. Box M.262.
Accr• .
•
P.O. Box 423.
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15-55- .......
•
1970 THE l.EOON OBSERVER 9
lbe Justice Party will strive to h.iJtory. It is however 6rmly committed to the
the immediate control of those sectors eradication of exploitation. and it accepts as in·
economy that do not involve high invest· evitable such conscious state planning compatible
of foreign capital or require managerial or with political freedom, as would meet the needs
skill beyond the resources of the of the people for houses. employment, food and
Where the P.P. atands on this matter IS clothing. and the welfare of the sick. the young
known. and the old.
victory in the control of economic It must be emphasised that, like the P.P., the
is impossible without a fundamental Justice Party contains within it a wide spectrum
in the system of international trade. of ideas. It is therefore fair to expect its philo-
witlJ. increasing inter·African trade and sophy to develop and not to remain static.
development planning. Working
t-ards the realisation of these objectives will
the cornerstone of Justice Pany foreign policy.
important consequences wiD flow from TI!E oPPOSmON IN PARLIAMENf
One is hard put to discover a system 1D
foreign policy. to the extent that there is By
Publiu. Gamesu
lbe foreign policy of the Justice Party, unlike ALMOST every Ghanaian o f Dote has emphasized
o! the Progress Party, will not tolerate any the need for a vigorous and effective but consti·
1d'",",lt compromises with racism and colonial· tutional opposition, if our second experiment in
The idea of inter..change with a regime like mult i.party democracy is to succeed. It is generally
South Africa onc, whose moral isolation the agreed that it is tbe purpose of the opposition.
Nations has been working for all these whether in a mature or nascent democracy. to
t:~~w:O~U~~ld be anathema to a Justice Party demonstrate that it can marJage tbe affairs of state and the doors of Ghana will DOL much more competently and efficiently than the
open to Vorster's agents. The O.A .V . and governing party. Therefore. tbe parliamentary
international institutions whose capacity to opposition must so behave that it can convin..:e
the challenge is questionable sball not be the electorate that it is, indeed. the alternative
sole avenues for the fight against coloniaism
Fd government. racism.
First. the OPPOSition can and must have a clear-
cut. alternative set of policies 00 major issu~,
Deportations And Dismissals both domestic and foreign . Secondly. it must 'ierve
as an outlet tor voicing politicAl minority opinions.
Finally. it must not attempt merely to discr'!ctit
In relation to internal political institutions, it the government in the eyes of the public (tb111~h
perhaps true to say that there are no great that is a very important function); particularly
differences between the P.P. and the must it try. :ts long as it is root itself in power. 10
Party. lbey both accept democracy as induce the govemmmt to modify or change iu
to communism or fascism. It is fa ir to policies in the interest of all . In what fo11ows. aD
however, that arbitrary deportations and attempt is made to review how and with "",hat
the dismissal of public servants. the appaling dis· effect the Ghana opposition in parliament h3s so
regard for the independence of the judiciary, and far approached these task!.
the undemocratic appointmeot of local manage-
ment committees have raised serious doubts as It must be admitted straightaway tbat the oppo.
to the P.P_ commitment to democracy. sition started with the odds heavily stacked ag:linst
it. Tts greatest handicap has been its n umer;cdl
Social justice. self· reliance, parliamentary f weakness (35- includiflg, for all practical purpo-
democracy. anti-imperialism and anti·racism sum se~. the only independent MP- against the PP's
Dp the outline of Justice Party thinking. In terms massive) . This has meant that for effective parti..:i-
of the major ideologies of OUI time the Justice pation in the work of the National Assembly the
stands midway between capitalism and opposition's meagre resources would be ful:y
- • little left of the centre. It is !>tretched. Besides. the exclusion. very ea rly on in
and not revolutionary. and it .rejects the first session of Parliament, of Mr. K. A . Gr,e.
the implication of the Marxist interprellltion of d<.mh must be consid<red • __ loss to the
1970 THE LEGON OBSERVER Jl
\ \ \ \ , , I~. I •• j I I , j JI
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It may be tbal die fact
tile pull t '7 coml*iud u
Us bid much to do WIth
WI..... to hom"'e, out a set of
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••N - ccd belA , dall~ of ... A. pudea ee In
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15
THE LEGaN OBSERVER
November 1970
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1970 TIlE LEGON OBSERVER 17
and women who operated during the 1950's. the name All Peoples RepubUcan Party
majority of tix>se who worked for the United (A.P.R.P.), which was quite a mouthful. The.e
in the 1950's are now with the Progress is secondly, the question of leadershipC1I'bere are
Some of the C.P,P. agents are also now some people who believe that they should lead V; L.\-.", I
for the P.P. The bulk of former C. P.P. any party they join. Unless they 3rc given tlJ.~e . ... ,..v.A. / 1not with the P.P. are now out of politics or po,t of Leader they will not agree to a merge.l,H
even in their own towns. They may rt does not matter how weak and small their party
a liability. In any case some of them workcJ is in comparison with the otbers. It does Dot
the Nationll Alliance of Liberals and other matter that together with other parties their chan-
parties during the last elections. but ces of political success will be improved. Con-
not seem to have done well. It would be be.st ceited. vain and utterly unrealistic, they would
the opposition parties to find and train n. . w rather remain leaders of a small party without
any hope of success standing alone. than accept
with the merger between the N .A.L.. the a lower status in a bigger. morc viable party with
Nation:!Iist Party, and the All Peoples every hope of success at future elections. They
Party to fonn the Justice Party, the would rather be kings in hell than servants :n
is sull too fragmented. Apart from the heaven. They often appear quixotic and pathetic -....l rcJAJ
Party .there are the People's Action Party. in tbeir unrea'.>Onable delennination to remain"/
People's Popular Party, dod the Labour Party. leaders.
all these parties oppose each other at electio:l. Those Formidable Odds
P.P. is likely to repeat its big victory. Would
Such were some of the leaders who led their
other parties. then. join with the Justice Partv?
parties to utler defeat last }'ear. In tbe end they
are the pro(,pccts of opposition unity? On
gained nothing. Men who at the beginning of May.
face of it. tho.!y are bright. So far as I can see.
le,·c 1969. entertained hopes of becoming Prime MiniS-are no mlter differences between the JustIce
ter lost the election and even lost their deposits. It
and the others. though the P _P_P tends to
now appears S('Ime of them have learnt tl'err
a more kftist line and. unlike the other
lesson. This is what in the end made it poss;ble
is associated in the minds of people with
for the N.A.L.. U.N.P. and A.P.R.P. to merge.
C.P.P. and Nkrumah. But there should be no
But it 2ppears others have yet to learn their lesson.
cul,tv in all the opposition parties coming toge-
Somehow or other. every effort should be made
to persuade them to change their hearts. Other-
wise there is every little hope that all the oppo-
Difficulties In ~Icrging
sition parties will merge.
There are two reasons why parties find it dim- From what I have written so far it may appear
to merge: 11) the name. It is surprising how the opposition bs very little chance of defeating
~~~e can become attached to such thZlg-s as the the Progress Party in the foreseeable future. The
~_ of a party. To many. a party's name !'IUtilS odds against th.!m are. indeed, fonnidable. But
its basic aim'i. and this is largely true. But the these can be overcome.
why some people do not want their partY'lt The opposition should make every effort to
changed is often not "<> rational. It is often break through in the Akan areas, especially the
due to the belief. sometimes without allY rural districts. A bout 50% of Gb<lllaians are
that a change of name would caU:le Akam-~and at present they solidly support the
to rduse to adhere.; to the new party. P.P.; 75% of Ghanaians are in the rural ar~as,
reason cHen heard is that the old name and the majority of them voted P.P. If the oppo-
better thall the new one. and can be mNe sition is to win elections in the foreseeable future
pronouncro by the illiterate folk. When the they must make considerable inroads into these
reacho.!s such a level you may as well two areas. Indeed in the next two or three years
pack up. Then there is the difficulty of persuading the opposition must concentrate its efforts in these
parties to !iink their identities in a new body; two areas. (They of course overlap in the Akan
everyone may want to retain B bit of its former areas).
identity. for the sake of its pride. Thus in a merger 1be opposition must also win the support uf
negotiation between X party and Y party, a likely businessmen. They have the means to give the
suggestion for 1 name wOllld be X.Y. Party. party financial support. and they may have in-
ThaI Is what happened ,.ben the Republ~D fluence in their oometowns. The opposition must
Party -aut with the All People'. Party. ArIa get its iotellectual supporten to supply them with
••w a1 hours of discussion it wu aglced 10 adopt ideas. But even more important. the opposition
19
THE LEGON OBSERVER
)Vember 1970
are reported the following:
A.fro-Asian Commonwealth. only a large 50 Allouette II and 50 Allouetle III heli-
of the Afro-Asian block at the V.N.O.?
copters
Ie fact of the matter is that it is true that
16 Super Frelom helicopters
of the world statesmen would share the 9 Transall Transport aircraft
ments and ideals In some of Dr. Busia's 3 Daphne class submarines
ments at U.N.O. For example. About 200 AML armoured vehicles
Instead of learning to live in friendly
Various air to surface missiles. and
relations, the peace of the world Approximately 45 Mirage III fighter I
is constantly being disturbed by
violent activities \\hich are being bombers.
used as in!ilrUmcllts to achieve sec- More revealing still for the long run was
tional Tights or to correct what arc the announcement o[ Mr. P. W. Botha, the
deemed to be oppression or injustice. South African Minister of Defence, made on 2nd
May this year. that a mobile ground·to-air
so, We must not only seek to usc edu-
guided weapon system for defence against low
cation as a means of breaking down
level attacks \\35 nearing the production stage
barriers and prejudices. we also face
in South Africa itself. The significance here is
the question of developing through
that Mr Botha said this had been achieved with
this organization institutions to
French technical assistance; morwver. the pro-
maintain the rule of law as an instru-
Ject haJ been "approved and partly financed" by
ment of international order
the French govcrnment.
ut tbey know that (or a long time to come
'Ie The case of the British. as revealed recently world !>tatesmen will cootinu~ to case their
in the Daily Tt:iegroph of London. is even more
'cs with fine rhetoric about the brotherhood of
ominous. Berore the Labour government im-
nkind what will continue to make the world
posed a ban. South Africa had bought 12 or
is calculated self·intcrc51. (bread and national
more Buccaneer airplanes from Britain; these
slige). and that those who will continue to rub
world arc the large nation-statC$. aircraft are naval but not restricted to naval
Britain loms the Euro~an Economic service alonc. South Africa is reported to want
mmunity. And what does the Commonwealth over £50.000.000 worth more of these machines •
Her any more? If anybody talks about the plus the nccessary huge quantities of spare parts.
lti.racial character of the Commonwcalth. But that i!\ not alL Pretoria requests. \VC arc told.
v.N.O. is. par etCeU('lIce, the multi-racial that British arms manuracturers set up plants
in South Africa. whose potential in trade bene-
cmational organi7..ation.
filS to the home country and offensive facilities
to Vorstcr are of course incalculable.
The South Africa Arms Affair
('onversations about these Items of business
IS no .... ondcr that the Archbishop of Canter- with the Conservative government of Mr.
ry himself. the World Christian Council of Heath arc reportoo to have ta..<;tcd every moment
urehcs. as well as scparate national branches of two month... Sir Akc Douglas-Home the
the Council. have all taken the extraordinary Foreign Scactary. is said to have briefed the
eps the)' ha\c rcc~ntly bc~n taking to intcrvene Briti~h High Commissioner at Pretoria. Sir
the case of the South Africl·British arms Arthur Snelling, himself. The "Shoppina list"
r\!at. For the basic facts behind the whole dlsc~sscJ is ~id to have inc1udl!d million/;) pound
usincss ar\! absolutel~ appalling, They make ')terlmg C'l1n:eltc ships. Wasp helicopters. Nim·
d meat out or the constantly repcatoo claim roJ rc(;onnalsance flares and Buccaneer Striko
f the Conscrvati\'cs in Britain that Mr Heath aircraft
as not yet commillt..'(j his govcrnment irrcvoca-
. Can anyone still wonder why Mr, Heath and
Iy to the policy o[ resumed saks. They do the
hiS Conservatives are so tempted to put money
me to the loudly proclaimed announcement
before anything else. even thc life and death
at the French have dl.'Cidoo to cancel orders
of millions of Africans? Is it now still
n certain selected weapons pre\;ously intended
surprising th~t. the Archbishop of Canterbury
a be sold b) them and shipped to the Union.
and the Chnsuan Council of Churches around
The facts arc grim. Among French arms al· the world have adopted unprecedented methods
eady supplied to Pretoria. or under contract. to. condemn evil and sue for justice?
21
d "uled • IIir for aoocI If ...., do DOl ..... tbe .....m ....t to ",. ..1 tbe
ben,,", of coune. to have .urdJ. . tbea what .,,(tty do they waDt? 0bYi0uIly.
.... wIIo _ DOt privy 10 the cri- if the 1atIer part of tboir stalen_t is trw. tbal tbo
COlt of aooda wouhl iuaU'f a1armiDaIJ. ID that caM
by !be 0IuDc:iI. It i. they owe it to tho coDSUlDCr public to tpeek out
to _ ...... public I)'IIUpathy should boldly and not m-ka ball-heanecl critirilllll CCMMhd
for them, cspeoially when the news- in pniles. The aim. of the Budlft was to improw
ItIpOi tI 011 the affair were so confusing liviaa staDdardt for an GIwtaiau. If some upecll of
..... difficuJty in distinguishing wbo bad it arc not aoina to fuUil this aim. eben it is tho duly
of aU citizens to lpeak out DOW.
of four p.pas CANCEU .ED and ••0 .....3 01 ~ 0, In
wIIo bad been SUSPENDED from re- Ka_
the Examination for three year...
farU, u explained by a bigh official 0; 0.........., ...... 1.
are that there are 3,293 candidates
lint category: they are being permitted SIR - I would like to reply to Mr. Atcdub.ira'. letter
the papers concerned before the end of CL.O. V 20) of 2Stb September, 1970. Family plannin, does not aim at discouragin, people from baving child-
year Those wbo fall into category two are ren, but at affordina tbern tho possibility to hmit tbe
a mere handful. They are those alleged to size of their family to their economic capability, and
been directly involved in the cheating. to choose when to ba~ these child:-en. This way tbe
children stand a better cbance of being propcr\y cared
the unfortunate lot of those candi- for and educated.
who know in their hearts that they did Dot
Mr. Atedec:bira claims that Ghana bal a pepulation
against the ob igations u der which the of 8 million and therefore it is premature to practise
operates, it is difficult to see how these fam Iy planning. May I remind or rather inform Mr.
tudor. . caD be said to have been too severe. Aledc~hira that a good proportion of the only 8 mUlion
the pomt at issue is a moral one and it is Ghanaians arc still illiterate, are inadequately housed.
time the morality of th's country was ~cru. do not have proper medical care or are unemployed.
The effort 10 ImprO\e th~ conditions is ceRAinly be-
The things Ghan ians are prepared to ing dcplo)ed. but the necessary funds are not unlimited.
for money are simply fantastic. It is therefore It IS of the utmo~t importance. tberefore, tbat we Umit
for the axe to come dov. n once in a the population e:tplo ion to tbe size of our wealth.
to arouse the consc'coee of this nation. Mr Atedcchira further says that the yearly number
of deaths in the North e~ceeds that of births. Does he
\\ould like to remind readers know why? It will be WI'SC for him to find the Coituses
is not even a domestic matter; it is an of (hi excess of annual death rate over birth rate. To
affair. Those paren who arc can- hale a family and CAre for them is an economic reality.
sUlOg the Examinations {'ouncil You C3.nnol feed. clothe. and educate your children if
think t\\ ·cc. \OU lack the fund _ What is true on the family scale
-- ----- is equa Iy '10 on the national scale.
\fr "-t dechll'", c nelude. !:Iy 'iaYlng ...... for Gba.
n to r pond to the c 11 of family planning nnw
w<'tu J m an th t we nrc at the momcnt holding the
IRil of CI II II n' \g in this is wrons. We .::annot
De El'K't!I 01 tbe Sdrdlarp be holding the 1 il of any CI ilisation when the t'im
of m Iy plan ng IS to prc'cnt the sclf-de.'l.trudion
Do tbe manu cture in th s c ntry have a of mankind b ha Ins: a world population that we
case a.aln t the new Import su charge or do f d H t ok the world a milhon yean to
DOI1 U they do, IS It asking 100 much to expect th prc I \\orld population of 3600 million.
to act as rcspon Ib e b umen and me rr enl trend of gto I" continues. it will tale
out and say so It lS very dl beartenms (0 a I,... Ihm }can to double it. Pt'Mpects of incteasin.
ill tbcI local dad es statcmc lS m de !:Iy rcpre- f lad rroductlon '>0 far remain illusory because of the
of the vanoUl bUSIness commumbcl cntlaJ.. rale of porrulation growth.
....... __ only to haft diem refuted ....
.., by the Arne iDdinduals A recent cue 1D I think It is in the lR~t of both parenls and
... dIa, iD. which a rlpr~nDtalift of the Manu- dllldrcn to practise family planninl. ..
A "'tign b e.an a c:ompl*1Dt by IIa}'IDI '0 I" de DnIa ,. VId_ N, Blaa.k.toD
us dalioa ... 8Iitber Iptaliq for tba tll2 , W\ Swltled '
of ... 0.- Ollila! I,,...." or tbII ....
• 7, - hsa .. frOID _ of the daiJi .) 1bea. ..
Ie Jill ... faa.. mmou"'dUJIUI.
wu. ol ..,.. awaitiq deara SIR. - I wiIb to """"*Dt OD \be kiter • Ghanaian.
) • NCl7.- ' I of NCI,jIOO .. ud Family Plannma" by Mr. B S Atedecbira of 7
... - C- "adli ia. I ... Oba. .e r CV /2D) . D Ur: ,Atr. mI 'd. 1iIIvoca_ tba ato~ of ..
23
THE LEGON OBSERVER
ember 1970
I
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•
I
•
Idbe
•
London
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server
Fonru,hlly O.pn of the Lelan Society 00 Nahaoal 10«.' ....
V No. ~ 20 November-3 December 1970 Price 15np
" TN" '''UE
.(
£.OtTORIAL 1
A SocIal Rc~oluhon In OUf Counlrys,dc~ FOCUS ON 1 ,
aUIlAL DE\lELOPME~T •
I In.t.umcn15 of Rowal RURAL
, Dc.dop~nl I" Ghana ,/
ArJ'Irua~h 10 Rural ~cloplT1C'nt DEVELOPMENT
THE ECO"'O\-tY 10
The H"tllt~1 And lh" Sur~hulc LE·ITER.'i 21
,,"obll Ah,alo.rl(H lf ul"hful'~ ("nnITonlah"n
ik>un'-"'i (t,C"lU"~ An<.l ;hc Economy - 1.", 1'.1",,, I """wn \\ '" ,h,p
,\ (- ··""'01 ("n,pli~n,c: O"Je, I ,c:r~I,e A f~~
J " IkJ.tcn, 11. ... ne'na ("I><:'1uc'
0" J """., J'lJnmnll
OBSlR'fER 1'oOrEBOOK J '"'' ~I, I "",I t.><: I rC'Iuc:nl
Ju,' Who Control, Our ron:"n Pol'c:y~ .'iC;"II" Sld~ vI Indu,ln31 C",I"~lIo"
Annncr-Jr) (,( the Hoh I("'olul,on 1 ...... 1 SHap, :,,~
CiJuU",,, \\ Ilh. . ". 1><: to;:.ull" 8001>; REVIEW
T rn: \ ",I \II I he ~ur<n."n (hId 2l
\\ckooUl: 1 ran_,ll<m' 1) U l"'Hcn,c: " 'Clc~I,,'n
Rc.,e. .. c:d b)\ N \ic",ah
SOCIAl. PROBLEMS 20
M,,",on.crt1on< Ab",ul lar,l), i\11)CELLA""EOUS
!''''''~ Ut"cr\.I,,,n\ • Gb3n3 Independent <'I (010" II
.," .....,n'ol";,.it
dislodge the bearers of economic well-being,
A SOCIAL REVOLUTION IN OUR health and light to the country·side.
COUNTRYSIDE? Apparently, one of the reasons {or the govern· CD
ment's emphasis on rural development IS that the
PROGIU:.SS PAR1'1 governmenl doc!' not claim two proverbial words It sees 10 this oountry do
have discovered rural de'ielopment. Rural de- not (,:ambo! of the rich and the poor -OWners of
10 the ~cnsc of atLcmpts 10 modernize the means of production and the sellers of their
condition') 01 Ilk in the counlrY:'lde ha') been labour-as they arc seen to exist elsewhere. but
us for a long time. There 'Was the colonial of to"n and country-d""ellers. It is on this basb
m1Oi')lratlon "Ilh it:, conc.:ept of the dl:,trict that the government plans to fe·distrlbute the
tad~lu'lft'm as a centre from \\hic:h modern no· \ .. calth of this CQUnIT). and. smce it believes with
of liie and economic techniques could be a great many people that the town-dweller. col-
'::;~~~,m~i,~n;to the :,urrounding countr)- Rural lectively. has hitherto had more than hiS faiT
• ba')cd on self-help gathered mornen· !-iharc of the national wealth. it considers it right
10 the period I Q. .. 9-60. as part of the proce:,') and just that it should divert a large proportion
~elf-emanclpation and as the manifest ex pres- of it to the village-dweller. Those who see the
of the expanding cullural horizom of the socin-cconomJc dJvide differently would naturally
It came to an end 10 the hI, iilght of object to Ihis basis for the redistribution of
• rule ""jth ih economic diHiculllc:, our wealth . 1~::; also. the Impulse to selr-helr ""as ema-.cu- Be",ides the question of social justice, the em-
~ under the onslaught of inCipient tOlalitaria- phasis on rural development is a piece of antiCI-
1 patory social engineering. The government is at- C!:?
But the present f!overnment empha",lzc:, rural tempting to anticipate the probable results hf the
making it one of it!:. major planks marl:h of our 'scx: io-economic history . They be.
the socio cCClOomu.: regeneration of the coun- lic\le that by creatmg. in the countnside. centres .,.. .....
A few people will quarrel 'With the govern. of ",.hat are{now regarded as mean~ to the good
rea\Ons for this decision. Of course. a life. (pipe-b()rne water, electricity and clinics). it
rural development programme would will reverse the trend of rural-urban migration
a formidable political weapon . Grateful and SO curtail the development of what may
folks will form solid electoral bases trom pcove to be rather grim effects of unplanned and
it would be difficult. if not impossible. to unmanageable urbanization.
•
I'm worried
beausc I shall
retire: in a few yean
and I haven't any
savings on whic:h
,_ t~."
"I'm not
worried"
The money from my
Endowment Assurance
with the Guardian Royal
&change Assurance
Group will look
after me. " ,
!I"t" ~d1I
Can You look Forward to a happy re-
tirement with freedom from worry a~
out money? If not you should contact
our Mr. Quayson, in Acaa (Tel. 64991)
or Mr. Milne, in Kumasi (Tel. 2325)
or Mr. Sims in Takoradi (Tel. 2035)
or • Write to
• IS THE LEGaN OBSERVER
~~~~~~~~~----~-------~-----
A &et.,",.,f04'-
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':Fit '"-t'"
ROLLS
The .iiOOlh effortless purr of 30,000 hp
Rolls Royce jets, brings new standard.
to our t.a ...l . We somehow manage
"to Ii ak. every passenger feel as rela. ...
81 Ih .....h h. were In his own bed.
Fly with ... to LONDON via and ...
If JOUr time ever passed more _"Dildy_
WE'RE UP IN THE AIR ABOUT YOU ,
hi 1*1' i' " ""II JIG Or
«. ntiera who b. jut ."'11
...... to ..." ,1 ... the proIIIem III lout_
aad \be indhlicl"'1 ia that WIt and JII.ufuI ....
There are nany ruoarbblc about ...
aDIK'II"KeJl 't. not the Inst tlf fa the
..... bas the Soviets to rent freedom in which it was mack Dis fa.",..,
.. ia _ or the world'. ouaas, to he hoped that the Iiberalion frcm CariIt
... ""'" dipkn.tic brief........,. in Asia. rial slavery which the Marx·Ienin aCNI,..h.
... LatIa Am ...... Their military aad broughl to the peDjJlc: of wiD ill I ..... he
pril_l liICDe . is DOW slroaJly felt in the ODIIIUIIIIDllted by a .... \ching • rr" I I IIIIil espe;·Uy. This is ...e at artistic freedom.
0IIe can oaIy hope that .he Soviets -----
.. 'r military IIreIIJIh with the hishest ~ WIIIIoIII De
1II11~"biIity. For how the Soviets, as HISTORIANS will find Charla de GanOe, the
u tbe Am erica.. behave will detenniDe fOiner Presideal or F,........ whose death ClCCOlred
or DOl thei. wiD he a .uicidal third world early lasl week. a lipe as cocpa .. __ of
It is ... !lillbeDl, then. on the .wo slohal Ibe leadin& acton in Fro. .b historical dAna
""_ to ..o ure the ouccessful completion or the There was GeaeraJ de Gaulle, of
I imitation Talk. (SAL1 ). ,,",,·Europeanism. who apJIUUIIIy tIaIa
DaTI IX·II)'. the opportunity COl' or tbe perfectly compatible wilb a view of ......•t ed
powth of Soviet military misht has Frmc:h natioa,tillD. In thae two apr me.
eat. Cit inched. For some strategic SCdon the General w. .1 to the Cll\cllt or app ring to
So,iet ......." "'Y. like housin& and conlumer
,.1Im haw sa«aed heavily from the over...,.,-on hea"l' iadustry which i. aesred
ums production. Even 10. i. is fair to
I- that in the ec:onomi<: field the Soviets have
tile whole scored some impressive successes.
ror the oonlinued. rapid arowtb of .he Soviet
1--.. kster and bsci amounts in resourcea
haw to he poured in.o the armament ind .... PIu.1
The in. ...... of the Soviet economy itself
he uother _son for ensurinl the IUccess of you the
the Bohhnit ..p erimen' is nowhere
J.-to lin, the very vision that inspired to
.. OckIb Dr Revolution, namely, Marx'. vision
til- aD euthIy paradise or freedom in prospail)'.
Pew. all his intclle .... ahe"ations, Man
• \. aud in hvmlD Creodom.. ADd yet,
years after the October Revolution. the
F' If!' an 1b1l heavily heliDe do. . by the
III a r ';0. .. They did the
III publicly.... , .. ,
19
THE LEGON OBSERVER
!O November 1970
g from the International Association for Cui·
ral Freedom. with which our own Prime Mini· -- -
cr was once closely associated and whose only ,
~eseDt African Director on its Executive Board
our own Vice-Chancellor, Professor A. A . et t at
.w apong. The original home of the paper was
.ampala, Uganda, and from there it rapidly
::quired fame not only in Africa but through· won er u (
Ul the whole world as a first class, scholarly
lagazine which could favourably compare with ,
ounterparts anywhere in the world. ount
On 18th October. 1968. however. the editor
d Mr. Abu Mayaoja. a Uganda M.P .. lawyer , •
d regular contributor to Transilion, were arrest-
and detained. and later jointly charged with • ee,In
ilion arising out of a couple of paragraphs b
om a letter to the editor, in YrQlI5iliOIi 37. in
hich Mayanja argued against an "ideologically
ommitted" judiciary. The trial was held on
th January, and judgement was given on 1st
ebruary, acquitting them both on all six counts
f sedition. In spite of this. however. they were
till held in detention under Uganda's Emergency
Regulations. and it was not until 27th March
1969 that the editor was released
Having been stripped of his Uganda citizenship ,
(he is of Asian origin but born in Uganda). and
with his files seized by the Ugandan government. I
it was obvious to Neogy that he could not
continue to publish Transition in Uganda. Ever
since then. he and his supporters have been look-
ing (or a new home for this important paper.
and they have now chosen Accra as the most
ideal place (or its revival. Asked why he chose
Accra, Rajat replied. "because Ghana. of all
African countries. offers the nearest to a govern- ,
ment that is committed to freedom o( expression, -
and which seems to regard press freedom as
important as (ree elections". The government of
Ghana has already given approval for the replant- ever • ., tIm •
We would first of all like to congratulate our • ~
inS of Transition in Accra.
government on its decision to allow this replant
bere. and would like to express the hope that PRODUCED BY
it would do all it can to facilitate the nurturing
of ,ueh a paper. '0 that the hopes which the PARAMOUNT DISTILLERIES LID.
editor and hiS sponsors have in it may never
die. Secondly. we of the Legon Observer m P.O. Box 3816
particular, and we arc sure the whole press of
Ghana in general. would like to extent a very Kumasi
warm welcome to Rajat and his paper. to assure
him of our support and co-operation in his Tel.: 6512
endeavours to see the new plant of Transition
grow. and to wish tbem a long. happy and Cables: PARAGIN KUMASI
sucx:essful stay in Ghana.
21
'ember 1970 THE LEGON OBSERVER
protest. Hutch!ui may be intclligent but I venture to
cagre family income and also provide security suggest that his is a misdirectt,.'1i intclligence.
:ten the parents arc old. In this case children Has he never scen finer brands of tars owned by
,nstitute investment, not mere consumers and people in les5Cr positions than he found in the Prime
ercfore cannot be a luxury. To change the desire Minister's motorcade': One thing should be clear: Dr.
K. A. Busia is th:: Prime Minister of the Republic
r large families would require quite a jump in of Ghana. He cannot ride in .l VW car when I too,
eir socio+economic conditions. an unLnown littlc thing with no pressing responsibility,
Imposing taxes on children would then not a~pire to a VW. As the P.M., Dr. Busia must mair.l.lia
a certain dignity . Hutch!ul', behaviour lacked refine-
Ive anything for, in any case, they would be
ment.
reed to evade them and if people arc too poor to Furthermore , most of us know the Dr. Busia, the
'ovide adequately for their children, how can Prime Minister, who is capable of giving up a part of
onc expect them to be able to pay taxes on his olfleial '1aiary for thc good of Ute country. Hi,
We cannot blame people for being poor. only fault in the eyes of Hutchful and his type is that
children and forcing the poor to reduce he rode in a motorcade from the castle to Legon. Dr.
Busia.'s conccption of politics has not yet been under-
number that they can have would merely stood by such men as Hutchfu!. It is a simple messagO'
them of their only consolation. for all who have can to hear and an understanding to
understand : that politics is leadership in servitude.
Na\rongo Seroodary School Dennis Adjei-Breoyah
P.O. Bo"( 33
~aTrong:o
''SenilUdc'''! Has Dr. Dusia said thai? - Edilor.
Hutcbfurs Confrontation
Too Much Foreit¥' Worsbip
The new~ of the Incident in ..... hich one G. C.
SIR -My copy of thc OMen-er, Vol . V, No. 22, reached
"confronted" Dr. K . A. Busia at Legon
me this afternoon nOth October) and I have just read
. reads diSLastcfully. 1'0t many people under-
the Notebook's " Tho~e Jaunts ". \Vbilc I am not
bcha,;iour. c\'en though he claimed he
completely awarc of the (£riousness of the proolems
"provc" hi~ case and that hc was "expressIR&
rai!>ed t>,. those jaunts, t cannot conceal my ~reat
feelings' I doubt if that wa" the best way to
.~. ;
, .
use apex
ball point pen
....I d=. • II __ IlIOn aad·1 iD penew Party•
IDAIC!IIlJ In out dcYeJo-P' IDl ,... 'I1Io .....~ ...... ...... • .,~ '" tbo
ewe ... nuoat ..., (;h... 41 .. Black Pu± • and other nvolulionuy orpnfadcw
.. I 'riI. a pof"lItiOll policy. Incidentally. in America ...~ 1 bop<, ..... u ...k IinI IiJbI to ...
11 ____0 0 bdw_ the ....b li_ COUDtrieI of Africa who upin to caw'lI. . tile bUdal
P '"lblw aDd the size of the population. _ of the Uni!od 510 ....
• ....u c:ouatry, can support iDClustria All power 10 the poo .....
", Wlib III Ie hina millions of people. can· V ...... , 01 Gt F. ... chli
mic:ally and feuibly maintain. The crucial A' ru HaD
ill En-rinl the market size i. Jlot the Jl1III\ber
per II. but their pu.rcbuina power.
, .. IIIM_ t.-wJ .. I
fIIW'.O'1'Ie, SIR-I am mother of three, I have been patron'"
the formerly imported (now locally manufactured)
branc.b of toilet soap for many yean. with pal aD
faction particularly with their aroma in tho bathl'OOlll
...... "',oa _ .-. and their lonlct life, be Fraaw' .- But mnce they started beinl manufactured here. the •
i-·I nlet to tbc letter of Mr. Jotepb Gyinayeh on local soaps have fallen below tho ",od'n! of dicit
above mbject which appeared in your paper of 21th carli:r quality. and belied the capti~'8tiRl adverti. .
- IOdi September. 1970. It is not correct that mcnts thaI launch them, HouleWivcs are particularly
was the last time that a film show was liven at disappointed to note the conspiaaous difference. Thi• •
........ in Alhanti. as alleged by Mr, Gyinaveh. one of the reasons why the. Ghanaian c:onsmner il oft eD
il DOt surprisinl that he has published such wrong suspicious about loc:al manufacturcn: they lower tho
becaUIC afler all Mr, G)'ina\eh was resi- quality of their produC'll and yet sell them .. faah'bic
at Wenchi and not a Boamang. The facts are as pn""'.
Yet the lovemment is livina protection to tbeN
1b.0WI were liven on the followine dates in manufacturen by availine them of every conceivable 'ono assistance. includinl tax reliefs. liberal loans and a free
J2th March. 1969 (Trial Cenms campai,n) hand in peUinl their prices. hi. d of protcctina the
29th July. 1969 (General Election campaian) helpless consumer who is deprived of hi. buic riPl
13th February. 1970 (Film show at AmOlko. 100 of cboice and IClc.ction.
yanb from Boamana). We arc doomed if we anow this ltate of atrain to
would like to state also that owinl to the "oor conlinue. And the doom may come IOOftct tbu. SCWJM
pi! of our cinema vans. the Ministry introduced a
of us think.
cia , .. van propamme in May this year. whereby clo V. . Pin'" ...., Yr' t
8eet of 10 cinema vans concentrate on each !"C,ion S...,.DL
a time~ visitina as many towns and villaJet as poasible
~,. ,I I ftlms on Go\'ernmc:nt activities and entertaininl
Nral folk . Tbis proaramme started from the Westem
...1 1 .. on 12th May. 1970 I am happy to say that Book Review
....s have so rat covered the Westem, Centr.sl and
..., ,", R"ions. and are now tourina the Volta Jteaioa
will move into Ashanti Recion by the. end of
1970. to coYer all towns ud villapl indudin, D H. LAWRENCE: ... SELECI'ION
1'- A. Edi!od by fllllll. d AIL 1 ,
,. Had", I, ,eoJ ., R. H. Poo.e and P. J. lIIM.)6eid -------=---- (Heiaemann Educational Boob 1970)
Price U.K.: 4".
I ) Iide 01 " i .1 Chill."., • Reviewed by A. N. Mm.h
often. Africans vtsitin, tbe US. are Ibown
1-..,. 11IE int.enhon 01 the editon of this lCJectioa is 10 the technolotical Upedl 01. the indullnalized capi. contain within a little volume of 300 paces some nf
""'IL In tbe .... Africans have been imp leeI. Lawrence's most repr; Itnlative writinl. At one lael.
their return home are determined. with the aid of and the ccbton tbemadvea admit it, tbi. i. DOt • very
wlltem countries. to uKluMnalizc &heir owa «_iIl_ diflic:uh talk: _ author U conailtcntly idiosyDC'l'atic ..
1Io~ IllihP"l Cilpltalist ..t hod.
Lawrmc:e is. proves easy caouch to antholosise.
bow.'Gf• .....,. Afncana an witD: , 'na «be nearly everythina he w.ote beina replu~ntaPve,
of the dart 51de of America. Tbere, 'The ccliton baw taken advan. ... of this situation
I Ii of an coloun an fo.eed to live in IlqUakw &ad bave web., ill thi. Ielatioo • pat deal that
.. • S' "'bOD" while tbe majonty of AlDaicao
e. , ....". ". .... is IIOl very fammar. without doin• .mous dam3,e CO ne c:Jae" lin... Blact _ an
fa'. III&. au \lial spirit of LawralorL However. the task is .. .... ·P'. yeUow IIIIIl for a whi. Ct'tIlpIic:a&ed by dae fact that Law.euce wa... as far u
,... pc aat, aad the 'Od.1 iDjutiCllll that he hp If .. 0 ~Imed. primarily a novelist. II is
, 7" fa Ii 01 .... cap"lillie I, 7 .,. lIoi",
.., EN I' 10 • .... ' ...i . Ibort stories. essays. Ietccn
-to ....., .., for oD 10 _ '" ... .... ~ - ud D H. Lawrcaoc ..... all me.
November 1970 THE LEGON OBSERVER 25
of a (arm and under the wonder of the stars. Then my waist.
is "Violels" to exemplify Lawrence's cctperimen- Could yo~ imagine our surprise therefore' wben. on
with dialect: he had always been concerned with arriving at the top Hoor of one of the buildin,s, we
ft.,ri,,. in his poetry the exact modulations of the found Ihal each gentleman in each of the roorm tbct'CI
og \ Olce. There is also "The Snap-Dragon" to was in a full suit-ti('~ coat. and trousers? From the
I~~~~·Y the "battle between the sexes" and Lawrence's
v:ay they were wiping thcir foreheads with their band-
sensiti\ity to living nature. Howc'"cr, it is di- kerchiefs, or using iXl-per to fan themselves. it was clear
to be satdlcd with any collection of the author's that thcy were really feeling the heat. Of course I could
• ..." which docs not Include "Snake", "Piano", or even not he'p asking one of those suited gentlemen wby they
brilliantly sanlrical little poem, "The Oxford had to suffocate themsleves. His answer was: "That is
how OLir colonial masters dressed, and tbat is how they
the anthology closes with an assortment of taught us to dress"
tit-bi ls from Llwrencc's prose writing. These When we rointed out to him that we bad learnt from
highly entertaining sornelime,S, and sometimes po- the Prc<;id::nt of the Historical Society of Kontopiaat-
I vel) revolting. Below are two <;amples: !..rom that ;u that country. for most of the year. the
The tragedy i~, when you',c got .sex in your head. weather is cold and therefore that they needed that
in<;tead of down where it belongs, and when you ridicu~ous and suffocating outfit to keep themselves
have to go on copulating with your car.; and your warm. he replied Simply. "No fears!" Still undaunted,
nosc. (LDHL. Vol. n. p.726). Kwame reminded him that we have bcen in fact indepen-
So thaI the first thmg to be done, in the education dent for at lea"it 10 years 110W, and therefore that we
of the p:ople, is to cure them of the fear 'i'f not need not <;1.-.., ishly stick to everything the ex-colonial
earning their own li\·ing. (EducUion of the people. powers taught U"i. Our friend simply turned round and
pS?Z). told us that if his bOM were to meet him in the corri-
In condu~ion. It would not be out of place to consider dors '" ilhout a ti c and coat. he would ask him whether
kind of reader who will profit mo~t from this antho- he wa~ a me5~enge r
. In the fir\t place. It is far too fragmentary to SUIt
level :)f student. It would seem that the appeal of The Welfare of Furm~rs
boo!.. is obviously to the general reader' dearly, it is \\-'e could not but give up the battle. We entered
~e'nt to be a brief introduction to Lawrenc-e. But here anothe r building. which we found was the Ministry ot
n It would have been better and more ~Ulled to this Agriculture; and would you believe that tbo~ people
if the echtor; had included more of the better known \\ho were <uppo<;ed to be thinking of the welfare ot
Lawren..:c·s essays. stories and poems_ For it ~cems farmeN. fishcrmen. cattle brC'eders. poultry farmers, etc.,
the r,eneral reOld;..'r I' likely to come away from \\iere also .-..11 In SUitS? Can this not provide a clue to
antholo~y with a feeling that he does nof know the (jueSllom abou! ou r inability to produce enougb food
,",.wre"c< ,~hom e\'O:rytoody el$e knows. even to feed ourschC$?
Perhaps It i'" the reader whn 15 a lready quite fami1iOlr
t .. At about I:! noon that day. we left the ministries in a h Lawr;;:nce whn is li!..ely to find the most use for t~lCi . natunlly to look for somewhere to assuage our
HIlumI', finding it a ready source of the not-50- righteous feehng of hunger The taxi driver overheard
" m'Ii'" of LawrenC'e·~ work. a~ well as :\ quick reference U"i dl~cussing the question a, to where to go for a bite
for ,orne nf his mnrc seminal work. like the essay :1nd offered to aMis! us; he drove us to the Rodas<;abma
democncy. Hotel. No \OOf'er had we entered the dining hall than
a ~moothly dres.~ed man approached u, and ,asked UI
w"'at we wanted to e.3t. Of cour-;e, both of us shouted
iscel1aneous "Green Gr::cn" Could you imagine our surprise ..... hen the walter told u~ that he had never heard of that dish
befl>re~ Well. well I then a",ked for fufu and palm
CII"N ,\-II'\DEPE:".-UE~T OR "COLO"? - 0 ",ou~ while Kwame ordered yam and garden egg and ..\..i.-'-i\ okr,) stew. Our waiter of course th ought we were crazy By In desperati,-,n. and r~membenng that we were in Accra.
Kw.ld~o Kontopi:ut , a."'ked for kenkey . fried fi .. h and plenty of hpl pepper
'\\e do not ~er\'e Ghanaian dishC! here. Sirs". was tbe
THE Chief, the Chief Fetl",h Pnest and all the 17 gods final an.v.:r, We a~k.ed him what ""'lh served there. and
of Konlofllaatkrom were ~o r~C.3"'ed with the report he. brought u" a piece of paper on whleb the foll;",wiol
of ,,"w:tme Knntorlaat and myself on the first anni\'er- wa~ wntten :
-ary celebrlllllns that they all unanimously decided to (11 Bal.ed (!I) Fi",h
\Cnd us bOld. to AC<:r3 tu continue our in"cstigations (2) Meat Roll
Into how indc('Cndent o r "Colo" Ghana re:ally is_ On Sliced Potatoes
the whole we ~pent a wed In Accra and the rc.sult~ Spaghetti
of ~-'ur in\cstlgallOno; .... ere simply startllng_ 0) Apple Cream. Custard
Our fiot "\-'i\11 wa~ to the whole complex of buildln,s (4) Coffee.
which .... c werc told were the ministries Cnfortunately . "\\-'hat in the name of the lost 77 Itods of Cape Coast
for u,. we :! m\ed thcre at about 11. 30 a m... wben C"\-en 1\ SpaJ!hetti~·· Kwame demanded. "and ..... by can't .... e
by Kontopl3!l.tkrom standards. il was really hot Som~ have sliced yam or sliced plantain ,oT e\en sliced casu.va.
body told u~ that the temparalure was about 900F and Imtead of 'lliced potatoes'" "We han been ~n-in,
humidity "Ra_ Kw-arne Konto['ia.a.t W31 in fact panting. r"Cllatoes e\"Cr Since the Brilish people tran,ferred the
... hi~ I had lowered my Adlnlra cloth practically to !lC.3.t of Government from Cape COBlt to Ace~ ID 1811,
•
27
THE LEGON OBSERVER
lVember 1910
I
I
r ~G@OO'ITclm&~[ID ~&~ in Ghana
Ghana Commercial Bank
• • •
There are other banks in our problems on letters of credit.
country. but none which has trave\1ers cheques, foreign ex-
such close links with its people change, and advice on economIc
as we. And wilh our interna- development projects and invest-
lional connections in Britain. the ment are easily solved.
continent of Europe. U .SA. and
Asia plus a special relationship When in Ghana contact any of
built on special knowledge, your our 95 branches.
Commercial Bank
HEAD OFFICE:
P.O. BOX 134.
ACCRA
Telephone: 64914-1, 6)524 6)529 and 6)480
LONDON OFFICE, .
69 CHEAPSlDE,
L-____________ TLrOl.N . nDhOnnNe.o EnlC.". 2 I. 191 ______________
r, DEC 1970
• rver
Fonnllhllr Orlln of Ihc lelOn Soc:,cty on I'llional Affairs ..
Vol. V No. 25 4-17' December 1970 Price lSnp
N THIS ISSUE EDITORIAL
•
WANTED: A NEW APPROACH TO SOCIAL
CRIME PR08LEMS
IN his J 968 A!W"y.Frazu.Guggisberg Memorial Lectures,
BRIBERY Professor Sir Arthur Lewis had the following to ~~:
1 am arguing not that African intellectuals should talk
CORRUPTION less. but. on the contrary. that they should write more. and not just the easy journalistic day-to-day criticism.
which was all that was needed in our colonialist past.
but writing based on detailed study. and leading to
practical constructive proposals. Our intellectuals
should try to ensure that any group of politicians which
comes LJ power docs so knowing in advance what th~
EDITORIAL I main issues arc. and what the snags are in eal.:h of tbe
Wanted : A New Approach to Social possible solutions.
Problems
One implication of these words is simply that the age of
administration by amateurs is over. However small the size
r. 2 of a countr). liS problems are so manifold and ;ntricately
,• .ltion in Ghana \ intcrv:,)ven that their unravelling. the first impcrati,,-;: step
~ .rcrowdtne in Our. towards their solution. requires study and consideration ot
them by a team ccosisting of students of many dis..;ipiini:;' ,
Governments which may in sincerity but neve.rthciess in
error proceed on out-dated assumptions usually ml!iolake the
symptoms for the disease and come up with panic ancasurC!).
Ghana. in common with several other countries in the
world. has problems of increasing magnitude. tho~c of an
OBSERVER NOTEBOOK 16 apparently rising rate of crime. of unemployml!tlt. ova-
The Debate On 3. Press Trust - crowding. rural-urban migration. and :Jf bribery and corrup-
Combating Cnme tion. Especially in the case of bribery and corruption. one:
The InvasIOn of Guinea
reads articles in the papers tCld hear!io talk which !..Uggest
that the Ghanaians and other Africans are inherently cor.
LEIIERS 11 rupt. Yet there is no country in the world which has. at
The Laws or AJ"l3r1held one period or other. not experienced bribery and '~rrtlption
·Vclf ... rc Slatc in Ghana?
An Open L.:ttcr to Dr "'ofi Busla (11 a massive scale. It must be clear to those who have made:
it their bus'ness to study these problem!. on a cOTT'parativ..:
scale that there are certain socio·economic rondition5 whlct-
gcn::ratc the problems that are at prescnt plaguing us One:
QUna And World Peace:
DennIS AdJcl·Brc.nyah must add. of course, thaI some countrie~ may accept (orrup-
tion a!r. part of the folkways of lubricating. for eJ{am~le, th~
lOOk REVIEW 21 m:u,.:hinery of elections ~.r,d administratton. But (',h:::.na 1\
surely n"l one of them. We all worry about briiJe.-y and
FOrclt" Aid Sekcted Rcadmjl5
Penguin Bool-s. 1970 corruption. Wc cannot afford them . I
RC\I~cd By T ... -Cavana To ur~c 3. broad look at bribery and corruption :s nJt lu say that It cannot be uprooted or that we must 'lltdil until
it di~appe .. rs It is to say that m.:.re exhortation. brl!<&,t-txat-
.Il~ and pomt,n:; fingers at selected groups wou!d mo!)t
Go'cnuntnt and Opp05il i()I 10 Sicrn LcOD~ p-)bJ.bly prove ine(f:::ctull. What is reqUired is th:: wrt of
'I'M j\'cstigltion the government has mounted WhiCh, it is hoped. - P\.RT II : SourC'f'5 of Coaftic.1.
K. A B. Joocs-Quartey he: followed by the enactment of Hringent laws :lgair:-t
•,
.•• '
2 THE LEGON OBSERVER 4 December 1970
But the lav.-5. themselve5 arc not likely to operate and f.!habilitation_ It is in these role!>'le~ar(:h
effectively within the sort of framework that gene- ~nd suggestions for 3u3cking problem~ JI '.)Urcc-
rates the necessity for the giviclg and Idling 0( that the Obsencr sec!) the proper U~ uf ~Iudcnb
bribes. If politicians resort to subtle iJI ms of ai the L\."1iversities. And it IS with thi~ In mind
getting money on the side. smaller mondl wiil that we recommend the ankles in the f~'\lowing
tollow suit The present over-ccntraJi£JIIOn of p<tge\o ,,-hid fall under th''': rubril.: ""j ~'~id;
facilities in Accra itself creates conditions for the problems" It i~ a plea that "instant ddllllni\tr. 1.
petty bureaucrat to obtain Lribes. Why n,t. tor tlon" should ceaM:.
example. make it J:~ssible for passports to Ix
obtained in the provincial capitals. so that the
congestion at the Accra office is eased and fJfficldls Social Problems
can work without the atmosphere of urgency that
pi essurize passport seekers to give ! bribe~')
RURAL-URBAN MIGRATION IN GHANAV
Similarly with crime. The response ~o the in- I. M. Olori
crease in armed thuggery in Accra and el!'cwhere THlR[ is ample evidence for the a)SCrtlon that
has been for the Prime Minister to issue 1 s:>rl of Ghana is fast becoming urbanised . b) ..... hich we
challenge to the: criminals. and for the Minister
mean more and more of her population arc be-
of Defence to order the army co-opted IOto the
cJming urban rather than rural dweller~ In 1931
fight against crime. to shoot what the minister
about 7.8 percent of the t('tal popu!atior. welc
calls "hardened" criminals who resist af(~~l. Thi:;
classed urban; this percentage in 1960 was 23.0.
;s all very well as an attempt to calm the feau
In 'lUmbers thi~ is an increase from slightly ovel
of a frightened citizenry. B'Jt how mu~h g.xxJ i~ 30IJ.OOO urban dwellers in 1931 to 1.5 million in
it likely to do? How 8[e the soldiers to defermine
1960. As the percentage of Ihe urban population
whether or not the criminals encoun'er..::d are
rose over the years. the size of the urba~ settJe-
"hardened"? Have they already £:>t a list of them:'
rnents also rose steadily. 1n 1948. for e"om "~'.
Thieves may resist arrest out of panic and not b.!.
of the six largeM towns. only Accra (134.000)
taus.;: they are "hardened" The thing I..>r the
Kumasi (7Uxx») had populations of over 4O.00l'.
M)ldlel~. trained at targeting. tJ do. is to disabk:
r~l 1960. five of the six had passed (he 40JXYJ
the cnmin21. arrest him and leave the courts lo
target
uetermine the sort of punishment likely to have
an en<.luring efTect co him. Increasing Growth of Population
In enlightened countries. the assumption these Urbanisation is of course a world-wide pheno-
days is that the majority of criminals are no: menon. Since the Industrial Revolution and espe-
devils at heart but that they may drift to crillll! cially since after 1800 the rate of .gro\\{h of
precisely in the sort of conditions that ::>rcvail towns has been faster than the growth 01 the III
Ghana at the moment: addiction to eompetillvl! world's population It has been estimo.1cd, that in
pre'aige aecummulation. with few avenue.s for its the year 1800 then: were about ~t) citic:- With
legitimate gratification: unemployment. thl! pliglll lO~.OOO or more ;· lhabitants. By the mid-t'W..:nticth
of tbe rural immigrant lost the city; appar~,' · century there were at least 900. With no slacken-In
dTlu'::llce in the midst of mass deprivation due to ing in the world pace of urbanisati)n it ha~ beet"'
;.In unequablc distribution wealth forecast that "more than a fourth of th.:. carth·:,
people will be living in citi~ v( l():l.OOO or .nor~
Th~ problems. then. are r~lated. Therefor..: inhabitants in the yea~ 2000"
\yh ·l t ;~ required IS not tough talk but fI:~c<in.:h J Broadly. three factors can bi! seen a ... cflntrihu-
,. h;c~ would lead to a mapping out of thl! breed- tino tv the increasing. urbanis:;.tion of GillnJ.. Til..: ~
Ill<" "'rJund~ and haunts of the criminals. ~nd ahn 0 lir~l is the n:!lur~l in~~~a~. i.l_Jh~ r ).JI.~_t.inn.
th:!. \'."oul<.l throw some light on the ,:c'l~sis 1.)1 AS~lIn1in~ that there ave been no Sl!!nlfic.ull
cril:lc. Such mapping out would facilitate .1 stra· change~ in the fertility rates. lowe~ptt~ rate!io
tee.ic tlcploynwnt of patrol fon.:cs and. p.:rhap". due to improved medicaf :::nd hygienic factors
Ie;') to prevcnliJn of crime and tht.' ,·.-anh)n I..ill- can cause significant increases in th(' total popu
In£' of men ,\-hl) may have driftc<.l Intl) crime latlon and thus :0 the numhcr or url"l:l1l Jwelle[~.
he~'~lI'c \OClct' h~~ It"elf f~ilcd to <.10 it-. JU1~ b) This is what has b.:en as~un1cd to N: happcnin~,
th:n There h:\!io not been any ncticcablc ch:lf1t!"es 101
Thes.; patrob should proceed p:ni p3~\U wili, fcrtilttv rates amon!! Ghana;:4.n~. The 'r.!l..:l.lI1J fa~
the rethinking of the I1lcthod~ 01" prison ~cforn. tor which has been contributing 10 th..: rapi<.l
_, 1970 THE LEGON OBSERVER
3
last to aO hundred years in Ghana of
HE KES' o
Sch s
o
o
,
\
•
THE KING OF
Schnapps
. ,-o .
-', :;. a~ :.
- ,-. .
~".
.. .... "". ' .. .'". ' 0,, .
"" .. - ' -
2.3 -19 - S055
•
4 THE LEGON OBSERVER 4 December 1970
urbanisation is rura!:JJrbao migration amQ!lg Gha· ing his educated child even the boundari~.i of his
naiaDs. As the 'pace of industrialisation quickens farms. His cbildren are being educated to become
and increasingly fewer people are seeking their very different from himself! The rural dweller)"
livelihood in farming and other agricultural pur- ..c onceptions about urban job opportunities are
suits. the urban sectors of the economy become, grossly distorted and exaggelated. Because every
the absorbers of the removable surpluses of tbe year the young mcn and women who hav~ left
population growth. The third factor is th~ im!1)i· the rural areas in search of jobs in the urban
gratio" of foreign workers and their families from centres do not come back disappointed. it is easily
neighbOuring countries. There have always been concluded that the market for jobs in the urban
such immigrations. But the evidence suggests that areas is good.
the earlier immigration of foreigners into Ghana
We can dismiss the notion that desperate
was directed to the rural areas towards agricul-
economiC conditions 10 the rural areas
tural and mining development. There is reason
of Ghana are responsible for the rural- urban
to suggcst that this trend \liaS reversed nearly
migration of the young. The bright lights and tbt:
twenty-five or so years ago.
dance halls of the cities may be attractive. but
This essay focusses attention on the second of those are hardly the primary causes of migration.
CUT causal factors, the migration of the n!ral po- There is no mass starvation in the rural areas of
pulation into the larger towns, and esp:cially the Ghana. Indeed it can be argued that levels of
migration of young people into the urban centres living in the rural areas have improved as a result
of Ghana.lEvery year thousands of young men of transfer of urban affluence to the rural areas
and women at various stages of their education and that in some respects. life in the rural area)
migrate to the urban areas to swell~ the already is so much cheaper to live.
large number of the urban young hy do these
people come into the urban ceo ? What are
their fortunes whon they arrive? What can be done Urban Job Opportunities
to check the yearly drift to the cities. and. perhaps
hopefuUy. to induce the urban young to go to the A major cause for the exaggerated and ,1istorted
rural areas of Ghana? views of job opportunities in the urban. C~~:':
is the fact tha t we ..t
Rising ExpectatiODS .iodeSQ!alis(ltion with Though
urbanisation can loosely be used as proxy for
y.'hy do the rural youth flock to the cities? industrialisation, it does not bear any direct re-
Undoubtedly the economics of rising expec.- lationship to it. In Ghana. and in most of the
tations. mis-information about urban job oppor- large urban centres of the developing world, it
tunities. and mis-concijHions about urban life would be marc realistic to equate urbanigtion
generally. among not'-only parents but also with bureaucratisation when considering urban
school leavers. are some of the compelling _job opportunities. A considerable proportion of
rcasons why the youth of the rural areas migratl! our urban population in Ghana...· derives from
to the urban centres . . A father who ba~ employment in public~ ottrd local administrali06
00 borrowed capital with perhaps th,! cocoa and commercial activities,.. rather than in any
farm heavily pledged, put his children through large scale industrial activity. The realisation of
ten years of education, endured all thesi thiS fact is crucial in the .)isessment of urban job
because "as soon as Kofi or Ama complet~s mld- \ opportunities not only for the rural migrant but
die form four and finds employment. I .:ihall be for the large urban school leavers as weI),
satisfied and pay back some of the debt." Few
This bureaucratically organised employ-
fathers in the rural areas expect their children ment ;n our· urban centres is becoming saturated
to do what they themselves ar\: doing. An urban
even for our university gradl'atcs. Any !lopes it
professional parent expects some at Jc:1st of might offer to middle school leavers and the se-
his children to fonow his footsteps by c.:hoosillg cond and third graders of the various publIC
his (the father's) own. or a sJightly more presti- examining bodies are slim. Thus the rural urban
gious profession. migrants and the large body of urban school
The urban legal father is not worried about the leavers can at best ~ or employed
extensive law library he has assiduously built up. in negative or zero·sum activities like crime. arm
One or more of his children wilt become iawyers. the last resort become employed, in low produc-
The rural cocoa farmer is not interested at show- tivity activities such as garbage scavcugio.c.
1970 THE LEGON OBSERVER 5
cars, and SO on. \,..Io...A ~ ...1..>., ... \.p.-'-'l,. ruralising that nobody. no matter the level of
~ \....:...... \(.. . <101 ~ <II ....... "" .. ~.. ......k-C-.
bis education. wants to go back to the rural life
been argued above that excessive bu-
after the age of 15. what can be done? To say
PUICfllli ,;alion rather than industrialisation 15
restructure the educational system is too simplis-
offers urban job opportunities for both tbe
tic_ But it is only in the edu~ational restructuring 1
migrants and the urban school leavcrs at
tbat any hope of reversing the rural-urban migra+
stage of Ghana's economic development. anll ) tion trend lies.
was also implied thal Ibis bureaucratisa ticn
be relied upon to absorb all those who One of the more obvious things to do is to
fo r jobs in the urban centres. The remccly provide more and varied outlets in the sys tem.
Dot to advocate rapid industrialisation t ') sol ... e The present educational s~stem wrongly assumes
unemployment probl~ms. A more mean ingrul that the very bright lads and lasses at e ... ery level
is a scrutiny of the educational ~yS1CIll will sort themselves ou t without bothering about
to ask whether the educational structure oj' the not-sa-bright. For e::r.:ample. the common en -
is too de-rural ising in its impact. The trance exam SOrlS ou t those for the secC'ndary
structure of Ghana seems w favour schools; the sixth form entrance sorts O:.1t those
drift of migrants from the rural areas to thl.! who should go beyond the crdinary level certifi-
cate to si::r.: th forms and tbose who are to go
nowhere: the advanced level passes sort_ out those
Absorbing the. Educated Persons who should benefit from university education
from those who should Dot The defect of the
According to Dr. Addo of the Demographic system is that it is si lent on the great number V
who cannot go on to do \l, bat the small number
of the University of Ghana. the i 96Ll Cen-
indicates that whereas 24 percent and 21 can do.
respectively of the male and female po- H there were more out lets in the educa·
pula.tion aged 6"years and over were found to tional system, people would begin to train for
be resident in such areas. TIle implication of the
above statistical picture is that the larger towns
absorbed more of the educated persons aged 15
years and over than the younger perS<!ns. Thus
41 percent and 45 percent. respectively. of the
males and females aged 15 years and over were
resident in towns in 1960 whjle the corresponding
proportions for those aged 6 to 14 years were
27 percent and 36 percent respectively for males
and females.
If those being respectively for males
areas were returning to their rural origi~s after
their educational careers. one would not t'C
alanned . But the fact of the matter is that tho:)C
who have received higher education in tne towns
have in the process acquired new skills and alti-
tudes which they can only put to use in the town~.
With the acquisition of new v:Jlues associ:lted with
.urbanisation and urbanism the recipients of urban
higher education begin to adjust their f!..lture ex-
pectations and aspirations in these lIircctiorls.
Very little wonder it is that the call to ~C' back.
to t{le land and the rural areas has had 'iO httle
iJtt.rdct The people to whom the call is directed
have become de-ruraliscd through the educational
process.
If industrialisation has nOt advanced enougb
to absorb the ever mcrca<:;i ... number of school
bvers and bureaucrati<::at In cannot absorb them
last caougb; if the educational itructUIe is too de·
G THE LEGON OBSERVER 4 December 1970
levels of employment and necessarily of the urban buted to the rapid population growth in the cities,
type only. Rc-structuring. the educational c:ystcm a detailed study of the trend shows rural migration
only come about slolAly. Meanwhile "lcmpL:- \as the major contributing factor. This in itself
be made to rurali sc our educated young lowers standards of urban housing"' ith regard to
and women. Perhaps the rn1ment h1.s corne acceptable standards and personal hygiene. A
a kind of compulsory nalional rural ~CrvIU! garage may appear a decent place of dwelling to
be introduced (or our stuC:cnt popuJarii)n, who someone who has migrated from a village into a
are among the chief bcnciiciaries of the "acTifice city with all its gay life.
and toils of the rural peoples. OUT student popuia-
The heavy strain that the rapid urban population
tion, especially those in the sixth forms. teacher-
growth has exencd on housing has been recognised
training colleges. a.."1d the uliivcrsilies. must iA
in urban surveys in Ghana. Dr. Busia's Social
recruited for a limited period. say of eight weeks
Survey of Sckondi/Takoradi, the government
in the yearly summer vacation to undcrL'\k:: rural Statistician's Kumasi Survey of Population and
reconstruction work. In this practical v.:"ty our Household Budgets and lone Aequah's Accra
students would be pcrfomling in their own coun- Survey gave us a quantitative measurement of the
try what foreign students h<!.ve been performing situation for the first time in the three cities ID
for us. 1950, 1955 and 1958 respectively. All the surveys (.
There are other intangible but worthwhile revealed extreme conditions of over-crowding and,
benefits. Our students during every summer va- lack of privacy in many homes in the cities as a .
cation would re-intcgr:rte themselves into the rural result of sharing of houses ,by separate family
societies from which we all come, and, one hopes, units. Surveys conducted in Tema show the same
would be more readily inclined to living in the trend. One would have wished that Tema would
rural areas should they on the completion of their really become a model town so far as over-crowd-
various trainings be posted te the rural .rr3! ing is concerned. If we take a minimum sta'ldard
of comfort of 2.5 persons, that is roughly two
adults and a child per room of a reasonable size,
the various surveys show that a considerable
GROWING OVERCROWDING IN OUR number of people in the cities live far below tbis
minimum standard.
CITIES
Acute Shortage of Houses
By
J.Opare-Abetia The situation should not cause too much
RAPID population growth with inadequate resour- concern if there were some signs of improvement.
ces for housing provision has resulted in an acute But all indications point to a worsening of the
shortage of houses In our cities. While the popula- situation . A United Nations Report uHousiog
tion of the country as a whole is growing at a Jo Africa" comparing the results of the 1948 and
considerable pace, figures for the cities show much 1960 censuses in Ghana, shows that the number
faster rales of grow.J!!, of persons per dwelling increased from 14.2 to
18.4 in Accra, from 19.2 to 21.3 in Kumasi and
A comparison of the 1948 and 1960 censuses from 13.6 to 17.8 in SekondifTakoradi. The report
shows that whIle the total popUlation of the coun- al so shows that ih 1960. 12% of the total popula-
try as a whole increased by 63 % over the twelve tion Lived 20 or more to the same house. The pre--
years, there was more than h\ ice the rate of the ponion in towns between 5,000 and under 5O,CXXl
national increase in Kumasi and Sekondi/Takoradi inhabitants rose to 20~o and to 35.6% in Accral
and roughly three times the national rate of growth Tema, Kumasi and SekondifTakoradi. The 1966
in Accra{fema. The respective percentage increases Annual Report of the Building Research Institute
are Accra/Tema lSI %, Kumasi 167~o and l40~/o commenting on the situation had this to say:
for Sekondi/Takoradi. With a national increase "The country has not solved its housing problem
of 27 % over the 1960 Census as indicated by the yet. The acute shortage of houses in the urban .,
provisional figures of the 1970 census, this rate of areas has become worse in recent years because J
increase is likely to continue but perhaps not the construction of houses bas not kept pace with
as fast as 10 Kumasi and Sekondi/Takoradi. the migration to the urban areas." The 1968
While it can be easily assumed that thre-e factors, Two-Year Development Plan prepared under the
~ namely, natural JOcrease of population, foreign N.L.C. also commented: "The expansion of I
immigration and rural migration, have all contri- industry and commerce in Ghana bas draw. .u1
1970 THE LEGON OBSERVER 7
ana
•
II! 5
(among others)
Good news
picnic lovers!
A r .. ngcof portable
Fishing is big business, and Ghana's fishing cold - boxes is now under dc\elopmcnt
·tr" is the biggest in West Africa. at Ghana
All successful fisrung industries depend on
. modem hygienic handling and storage
-particularly in the tropics, where
can take place very rapidly.
This is where /Ghana Aluminium comes in. We
. - /' ' manufacture aluminium
. -- - fish-handling
I! _ • r, . equipment
- that is light,
but strong enough to withstand
corrosive marine working conditions
and the rough-and-tumble of trawler
and cold storage freezer-rooms.
We recently made 300
I-- aluminium fish-freezing trays
for Mankoadze Fisheries Limited
at Tema, bringing the total supplied
by Ghana Aluminium to the local
industry to well over 3000!
We solved the problem for
Mankoadze Fisheries Limited.
May we solve your problem
as well ?-we aren't called The
Problem Solvers for nothing!
trays ",
one of p Contact:
.. Fisheries' Specialty Products Division,
- -.. Ghana Aluminium Products Limited,
..- P.O. Box 124, Tema: •
..... \ Tel: 2725/6/7 . . _
••;~ ~ W~'=C:':'~~_ UI daa1I0 d' ll•l
Vorioua ia !be fieldl or hou!!in, PG- 1m pet far 0" r
jn'" sublidin ad IE. an:la haft' proper CIllO or bUD mpde to
101. . tile prabl ii, bat JtiII more ia ... DO IOIutioa Iia in JiPt.
For ....m ple, ia I'''''" • UaitaI NIliODl Tech- privacy and they CIA «dl til .i ..
Assjst._ IitUdiod tile problem IIid
ppn'.iI ll. u.. • :...ova:: ~ =:. :: Oiie ..- ..".t .. C'i I in 1957.
n", lie DOW tIIe):vnty or An:liitect .... and tile look at !be Cteqa I .." or qlll. ...1 1 .....~ i.1Ii
.... ...., RIIIean:h In"iliate .t n, is pied by IIKft then .. ,.miIJ .... to U.S.T. 10 ao
doDbt is bowled., ..,.., fA tile dEC .... the~ e ~ 0 DOW lufljcjmt
....l IIe ID the country for • wlIDlnehenme """station. In !be ....... or tho
JIiOIiMlDllM! if the Ad Hoc Oroap of Exrerll on Ho ..... "",&" mech·njc::a could be
h"bfubed. Develop'" at. (R i 121 1962) "Hoe' .... • dcvelopn it play • role ia .......
retardina ewpIuy" EDt aDd 0'I)M(ft'c
_ Ho II in matin, batbb and ",..;,' ...._
servin, !be values of dl cent flmily Iife." It
It is 1ompIiD& to posh bousing down !be $COle of cIilBcult to bring about I
in ,jew of tile economic pliabt of !be bumao quality in !be citiea
continue to dcICrioratc. Tbc
COUDIi)'. It iI Cllculoted tbat about 25,000 DCW
• " ••I ia, units would be required ill Accra-Tema centres oC inspiration and Cor the de.:1 4e
I II mn"' and 5cIo.uudi{T.a.owl; aud anntbei 35 000
new buman values in • rapid dMnai.
•
• m 01
L__ towDs to liainJ !be bousing conailion ' environrnenL iO •
" _,bJe slpnc!.nI. Judging by !be p". II
output of bo. ..e ' both by private IIid govem. .....t Sa I ooel
bui~inlo it is diflimlt to sec bow !be target c:aD bel
achaaed. .... .
"-
As .....4 by !be 1968 Plan, "if. acaI What is DEE~EII. DOW is. impact
is to be mlde on !be problem of bousing it is policy that wiD
esleutial that the various govemmeut • ...,aes
""""';ble for housing an brou ...t topthcr to
p ........ a consolidated IOnual housing programme
IIid bucfaet. In additioo these aaencies must
arnnJC to ablre and staeustheo their technical
JerYicoo, to provide for ...... scole site _opn- "I,
to sponsor Je1f.6naoc:iDg method) IUCb as ..... .~."" ,.",
opci'IIifts aod to _ !be Bow or llviDp, ....
kiD& aod inwnnce rUDds into bouMa .." ·
0TIiL.-ae "'ould be consolation in !be fld tbat iI not the only COUDIi)' in !be world focod
"ith •• housing Jbortop. Housing ia • prabhm
also m tile more de..toped CODntries and in ......
of tile lea dcvcIoped countries tIierc lie ......
conditO· Dtlhl D we LlaW.'· • Ohena.
_ IIItouId bqin to do _
&boat aw OW. n, • is tile d4.
THE LEGON OBSERVER 9
~c~~aps a Houo;ing Board charged with
the . respo~slbillty or initiation, action and co-ordi- INSTITUTE OF
nation might be the ans\\cr.
ADULT EDUCATION
THE CRIME PROBLEM UNTVERSITY OF GHANA
By 0 N A !\ortcy
EVE R YDA Y. everywhere. in the press, In announces
parliament. on the streets, people complain
about and discuss what seems to be a wave of The 22nd AnnUal
crime sweepi ng t.hrough the country. Everybody
seems to be askmg the question. what is th..; New Year School
cause of this unprecedented risc in violent
crimes and thuggery which appear to be flou- TIleme: National Aspirations Under
fishing in the country? And can anything be t ll e Second Republic
aone to stem the tide? Placfe: Oguaa Hall, University Cctlege
This phenomenon and associated questioi1~ o Cape Coast
are neilI!'.J:. 'lC''l Dor QCCUliar ,tp. th is country. A I I i)a~~: __~ ~~~ December 1Q 70 tn 6th
hundred years ago contemporary account:. ·f·
San Francisco. in the U.S. told of extensive Fee: NCIO.OO
areas where 'no decent man was in safely to SEMINARS , '.
walk the street after dark: while at ail bows, 'I. Agriculture and the Nation
both night and day, his property was jcop3rdizLtl 2. The Challenge of Rural Develop-
by burglary'. This dc~criptiC(1 can h:: applil!d ment
witb equal validity to Accra and some of our 3. Education and National Progress
major towns. 4. Technical and Commercial Edu-
cation
S. Adult Education and National
External Pressures Development -
6. Population Growth and FamIly
Tbe most natural question people ask about Plannfng
crime is "Why?" This question is asked about 7. Industrial Development in Gham
the individual criminal and about crime as a 8. The Ghanaian Ent~ur
whole. In either casc it is almost :m:->vssible to 9. Science in National Developmel
answer, because each single crime is a response' 10. Local Administration in Na-
to a specific situation by a person witb an infi- tional Developmenl
mte1y complicated p~~chologica l and emotional II. Religion and Morals
make-up who is subject to infmilc\Y cornplicatal 12. Politics and the Citizen
'external pressures. To seck the "causes" of
J crime, therefore requires close ~nd careful an~
I) sis and study of the personality of the cnml- Special features will include?
nat and the social, cultural and other cn'viron· on the question of a Dia\r
mental factor<: wh~t'h nresSUrc the individual c".,th Africa; a Discussion
T t:cononr
•
• 10 TIlE LEGON OBSERVER
cases victims and observers of criminal ~ts do Murder 144.4
Dot report due to ignorance. fear of reprisals or Assault
I 141.4 they cannot afford to spend long bours at the Publication of Obscence police station. The result is that what the poli~ literature 133.3
records teU us form only a part of the real.sl- Forgery 95.8
luatl.o n. an d there is no means for . asse.s slDgf
·,s forms The above table shows that the most \' : hdh~r th 'he maJ"O city or mmorlty. a
the total valumn of crime in a cou.ntry .. Smce social problem is prostitution and k
" records do not cover all fol- ~crenccs. Although no empirical research th epolIce . Crimre s It ti
lows that if there are no changes m po ac - et been conducted into this social problem, .Ice
V.J t.I e5. any ·,ncrease in the " number of recorded
~sual observation in the urban centres c!t:arlJ ~
crime may be a true indication of a true ·ndicates that the majority of those engaged fI~. , . f
this type of of[ence are immigrants . rom
The police records from 1960 to 196.8 indi- rural areas. These are mostly young glr.ls, botb
a.te that the volume 0 f cri.m e f or 'he pe. nod has I literate and illiterate. The literates are girls who
a\.rr.nst doubkd. The actual increase IS about had completed their elementary school ~uca.
'j 93 pe.. cent. Of course, this does not tell . us tion These girls flock into th.e. tm. ., "s ,.Wlth •
"'dJucb. lPcause the increase in reported cflm~ view to firll'ti .... ~ j ... J.,<; to earn a hvmg. 1111.0/ come
\ may be '~Je to increased police activities or It with no special skills and so get no jobs and there-
may be due to the willingness of the ~en~:: fore become uncm.DI~"ahle. Thq' - .." !."Ve to live
.. aitl~ to reporJ_c~:~rs .flu~. t<? .~ ....c :~'g;xd~· or .a!"~J perfidt'S get something extra to send to their
both. parents at home. However, the evidence from other SOurces I
conflfm what the police statistics reveal, that is,
• tLere is a g(,~eral increase in all types of offences . Rise in Promiscuity
Increasing Volume of Crime In the absence of suitable jobs they turn to
I the oldest profession. You will find four or six
According to the records the bulk of on:cncC'~ of them occupying a single room, sleeping and
consists of offences against propeny. This forms- resting during the day and in Ihe night go along
52.8 per cent of all offences known to the police. Ihe streets. drinking bars etc., hunting for cus-
The next group in order of importance consists · tomers. In Accra one has to drive along the
(\f offences agaialst the person. This Co fillS 33.6' Ring Road. the Liberation Road and th~ Achi.
per cent oC the total . Next comes offences against . mota-Cantonments Road to observe them. In
public order 13.6 per cent. AJJ the thTe:! classes . many case'S they are protected by thugs who
of offences show remarkable upward trends.' collect commissions (or the protection they give
thus :.upporling the view that the volume of them. These thugs are mostly unemploYed per.-.
crime in thr- country is on the increase. Although sons who go about seelting clients for the girls 6
burglary. house aod shop-breaking, robbery at night and Use whatever they earn in gambling
.•" violence and perhaps thuggery strike the during the day. These same thugs form the bulk
-"ldlines. the rate of increase is not as of pick·JX>Ckets in the towns and, in addition,
other forms of stealing "lTences. they smoke rndian Hemp and mtroduce the gids
' ud by false pretences", u;Jroslitu . into the habit of smoking. These girls. due fl) ,
indred offences .. ..... rl;')s"ifif"tt economic (.;onditi.o .n s become immoral and see'
.. ainst p ...... . "",a.. . •
(
IS
4 December 1970 THE LEGON OBSERVER
-
The State Insurance
c me Corporation gives you complete protection.
W hether you require Life,
General, Marine or Fire
insurance don't hesitate
t o con t ac t any S I.e. office
or authorised Agent.
Remember, the S I,C.
our u mbrella covers all aspects of insurance and
all inquirie s are given
/(um r individual attentIon without Obligation
, EST" "< 1962
STATE
INSURANCE
CORPORATION
\ P.O. BOX 2363
ACCRA
TEL. 66961
& 21833
ar;onc:hes
16 THE LEGON .oBSERVER 4 De: c. "lher
Observer Notebook. how to do their work. The objectors to the independrot Trust idea
that that in itself will change nothing since
Debate on P .... Trust ployees would still be beholden to the Trust men
bers, who wiu mOSt probably bo appointed by
A LEGON Professor in history has rec~ntly Ie· government. This objection is not very sound.
opened the debate on whether or not our ':1:Jtional- membership of the Trust can be formed
1:,-owned daili:s should be managed by ~:l indc- appo:ntces from statutory bodies, the
p=ndent Press Trust. He thinks it should, becau~ ?nd the like, so thai the government itsdf wc'u~
there has been no evidence that the natioi1al news- have no control on who gelS appointed 10
papers have. even in the Scccnd Republic, proved Trust. Memb:rs of this sort are not likl!lv to
themselves independent of the govemm~nl. ''In- interested in slanting reports in -
pcndoocc" must be reflected not only in argumcnG
In editorial comments but also in reportage on the as to
activities of all part~cs in
would hay'
ordinary Ghana::-.....
,-,-, .-. ---
lO oisunguiSh between the state and the
.no to h~.'i;'iJs n~w$papers government of the day, whose personal and ephc-
"_ ....enting dllh. . ,·Cnt POints of view in the !>ociety. mereal interests, for exaOlpie, in its tenure of
so that they reOect diverse views and constitute office. may clash with the enduring int~rests of
mutual counter..checks on the presootatju~l of the the state. When in the exercise of patronag,:. mem-
social, economic and poJitica! facts 3bout tlie bers of press boards arc appointed, not ~cause
country. But Ghana is a poor country, and wooing they have at some period in their life, been en-
a newspaper requires tbe sort of capital invest- g2ged in grapprng with the problems of mass
ment which is beyond the capacity of our budding communication, but because they have performed
entrepreneurs. Sc, it is that we have had , Uilttl v~ry personal services to the apPOInting authority or to
recently, collective ownership of newspapers of hiS party. the PlesS is likely to be placed in jeo-
which the government is the custodian. pardy and to be operated in a manner jan£erou:i
for the nurturing of an infant democracy.
1\ is to separate the interests of the personnel But the problem needs a thorough CUllsldera-
of any particular government from enduring na- tion, perhaps by a committee ronsisting, not of
tional interests in infonnation about our condi- party sta lwans, but of men who know ')(Imethirl!;
tions of life that the advocates of an indep:;:nden~ about the r.latler. Towards tbe deb3~e. tt.e
Press Trust want to abolish the custodianship of Obsen-er hop.;~ to publish a full-length drticle 10
the government of our national dailies. The argu-
a forthcoming issue .
. ment, really. has very little to do with the presellt - -----
government so that it need not put anybody"s back
up. It looks into the future when the functionmg J Combating Crime
01 the press, as is at present constituted. rpay CClce THE Minister 0: Defence, Mr. 1_ Kwesi Lamptey.
again become the plaything of the advocates ~f
I) reported to have said at a Progress Palty rally
demagoguery. that the PJlice and the army have been ~rd':led to
The argument, already nOled, is that Ghanaian sheot armed robbers who resist arrl!St_ !vJ:.tay p;...""'O-
pressmen who have limited avenues for plying pIc think that this is the best way to d.;aI ..... ith
their trade, as the Graphic editorial of 20th of robbers and other dangerous .:rim:Clals. OUI there
i-:ovcmbcr iBc1f admitted, may not be :lbl~ to re- arc others who think th2l this will not b~ ..:nou~h
sist the threats and blandishments of the appoim- '''' ' .., \ .. ~ ;n the country.
mg authorities; and that thl.! ooard of diiector·
of our new"oap"'r<;.;o,.
1970 THE LEGON OBSERVER
ler.1OIl may. if tbe other person, baving nouce that in any particularly year 160 out
believing ,ha' he is lawfully arres,ed ...o ids of murder brough' before them should
by resi~tance or fight or escapes or en· still be nding at 'he ond of ,b., year? Many
to escape from custody. use .m, force JXJlice officers who should be. working on ftab
is necessary for his arrest. del~rlon. or .• coases waste a lot of their working hours wait ing
and rna>. if the arrest is made In in court to give evidence, and all too ,1ft!.!n they
of a felony, kill him. if he cannot by go home without being called_ And thi" also
means otherwise be arrested. dct3ined or applies to those bymen who arc suhpocned to give
retaken. 1 evidence 0C1 bchdf of the prosecution. Wlnt is tbe
Minister of IXfence v.as therefore saying usc of reporting a case if all that you gd in re-
more than the law enforcement Onil~.::r ha!:; turn is a waste of your prcc;ous time?
~,.er to do in certain cir.::umstances. And it must not be forgolten that accused ~r·
However, this pov.er can or should be ;nvokcd sons are entitled to speedy trial.
~nlly in extreme cases. Before it becomes llC<.cssary
use this power the police must either Ix at tte The In"asioD of GuiDea
of physically apprehending the felon ( J f mu::.t
THROUGHOUT last week the world was dgitated
have had him in custody ac1d Trying to
his escape. And what is and bewildered by a reported invasion 'If Guina worryi .. ~ the
is the poor record of the police in detecting by white mercoo.aries. Vis ions of the Congo were
and effecting the arrest of criminals. Let us conjured up. Africans became apprehensive about
the possibility that Jhat invasion, if really under·
totke robbery. for instance. According to the
Annual Report of the Police Service (I %8). "There taken on tbe initiative of white mercenarie5. might
mlfk the beginning of an era of nco-imperialism
\\cre 89 cases of robbery in (1968). J lout of the
16 persons \loho were prosecuted in connection in which mercenaries might choose to 'flake the
with 14 of the cases were convicted. The remain· smaller. and therefore weaker, countries tlae bases
ing of economically-oriented military action. five were acquitted." What happned to the
remaining 75 cases? How many were closed un· But there arc other possible explanations. 1t
does seem that most of th~ white rnerCl:!llaries
detected? One suspects that nothing more is said
were Portuguese. If that is so, then one might
about them because most of those closed were
undetected. or were still under investigation or
pending trial In January J 970. when the report
was written. sanatog~n-
To take another example. ]n 1968. 391 "true
cases" of murder were reported . Of these. 31 were MULTIVITAMINS
closed undetected; 160 were awaiting trial before •
the courts; and lSI lAere still under investigation. Plus. RON give
Ccly 46 of the cases were disposed of by the
courts. These figures show that by the end of the
year I %8, only about half of all cases of murder you the
reported had been sol .... ed by the police.
The figures arc alarming. You only ciiminate to enjoy life.
or curb crime by devising means which would
, either prevent the commission of crime O~ lead
10 the speedy detection and solution of those which
are actually committed. An:1 it is here tIJat our
law cnforccmmt agencies are weakest.
We would SU!-!-2e~t that ocHer and marc eflee-
tive methods of crime detection should b: intro-
duced as soon as possible: cietectives ~hould _~
better trained. and the polace should Will the "Co-
operation of the general public. All the new me·
tbods will not go far towards eliminating crime
unless the public co-operate more \\-;th the police
by reporting cases and a· liog the police to sanatogel
dlect arrest. MULTIVITAMINS Plus IRON
The figures also show that the courts a:-e very
slow in • Dtstrlbut0r5 ~ MAJOR & COfFANY (GHANA) disposing of cases Surely it .is no cre<in
• ,
18 THE LEGON OBSERVER 4 December
be inclined to think that lb;! invasion was some any good far Africa. The fact that some
sort of a defensive attack: the Portuguese might European soci.::ty should choose an African
want to create confusion in Guinea, cut of[ suppon (or modem land piracy is humiliating beyond
for the embattled freedom fighters in Portuguese sure to all af us. A puppet native regime
Guinea; or at any Tale set up some sort cf a pup- Guinea coUaborating with Portugal to
pet regime which would connive at their co).miails! Portuguese rule in a neighbouring coumry IS
presence in th:IT territory. This is not far·fctchcd less revolting in prospect. And even if appon*
It accords with the policy of cncircb"m.::nt .,)i of Sekou Tour\! called in mercenari~s and da:
Zambia and other Black African states h; Solith Portuguese to "elp rid themselves of \'y'ilc;l tbet-
Africa with the economic opportunities beilig consider an oprressive regime. that is lh)
dazzled befoTe Banda and e1her black ru 1ers in cither It waulJ mean that they have no
Southern Africa. support. When an oppr~ssive regime becll,nc:)
A third pos:;ible explanation lies in opposition l:earable the local people usually find .1 Wl}'
to President Toure's regime. One knows v~ry link: getting rid of it- as happened in Ghana, e"".1
about the economic and political cond.tions oi though in our case an incredulous world ... UI be-
that country. but Guinea ba !- a one-party state. lieves 1h3.t outsiJers had a hand in it
and is developing a truly socialist economy. AI·
though a socialist economy rr.ay have SOlll\! admi· It is consoling to leam from the rea':;a\ons C
ro.blc virtues. d. regimented regime is stiOi!1g a:d African leaders that they have drawn tl;t; ri·,gb l
is likely, expecially in conditions in wl"nch one conclusions from the attack or. Guinea. T~~sc ""'1
cannot have the higbly m(..Chanizcd control 0; that every African country could possibly fali
Stanlinist Russia. to evoke a response of tn.:: couu prey to the machinations of latter·day i
type. In sum, It is just possible that oppon.!nts OJ that we need to close our ranks ; and :hat
Sekou Toure have made common cause W:liJ some sbould hurry up with collective mobilization
nch potential foreig:t exploi.ers of Guinea's ·lewl,· o ur armies for collective purposes. It is ,~ot
discovered iron are, and with the Porlugue:>:! ruler.:. late to unite and help ourselves. Or it m:,:;i1l turtl
of Guinea-Bissau, to overthrow Sekou Toure. O!...lt that the so·called "sovereignty" to Wh;C:l soin4
None of th.!Se expianatio;]s, if true, r rtend.) little souls of ru icrs cling will prove he iio",,·
-
use,apex
ball point pen
December 1970 THE LEGON OBSERVER 19
"ctfare Siale io Ghana?
~etters SIR- You r ed itorial on Dusia's fi rst budget (L.O. V Iii)
indicates how r idIculous it is to apply the conce pt of a
The L::m s of Apartheid we lfa re <;ociet)' to a confused economy like ou rs. There
~R I') an unfortunate tendency In Ghana today to reg.lI d J am happy to sec the sUDjcct of apartheid rca-
the 'welfare .. tatc· as an altcrna the to some other forms
prominently In the Legan Oh<>cncr 10 recent
of S<K:io-political organization. But is il?
But it ~ccms to me that the tone of the con-
Thc fact IS Ihat thc govcrnment tells us prncticaliy
. ; is so sophisticated that only a SCl.:till1l of the
J' nothing when It U}S It is committed to building a \\el-",I can fdly appreciate from them the atrocious
of apar·hcid. fare "iociety. If \\c bear 10 mind thaI the two baSIC
tenets of the welfar(' slate a rc (I) that every ei tizt:n 13-
Lo my opimon. the system of 3p;1nhe,d is so rc\'olting entitled 10 a minimum standard of Ii\'ing. and (2) that
any Cl\ ihzcd standards of mOr.!.lity that its portrayal governmcnt policy aims at the lull employment of the
",.,""Id be made down-Io earth to enable every Blal:k m"Ll population. It IS ea<;y to sce "hy every countt) can
~o appreciate the seriousness of I ts threat in order thai cla im to b..: commitled to the concept. IndC\!J, rather
~c might demonstrate his opposition to it In whatc\cr than being a dls!'-~:.i\'~ form of zocio-political o~gantza
he deem .. appropriate and finds practicable. To 'his tion. the welfa re state seems 10 be what all forms of
t~..t I reproduce below a few examples of what the socio·political organisazation 31m at becoming.
~ 1 of apartheid laws in South Africa can do to In any case. in the specific conditions of the Ghanaian
beings. These were t..akcn at random from the situation. let u's r..;membcr 3 kw points: (I) A welfare
c:(amples compiled 10 1959 by Senator Leslie society draws a po,'er1y line and attempts to move e,'cry
n in his pamphlet Th is is Apartheid, publish!XI by citizen above that line; we do not e,'en have a Ila tional
Gollancz, Limiled, London definition of poverty. (2) In a private-business oricnted
environment the \\elfare society will come only "hen
An African who was born In a town and lived the economy has moved from one of scarcity to one
there cOniinuC'usly for fifty years. bu t then left ,u of abundance. (J) E\'en 111 an economy of abum:ance
reside elsewhere for any period, even two \\ttl..s. j" it would tal..c a conscIous gOHrnmental effort 111 the
not entitled. a"i of right. to return to the town where form of legislation, and ne\'cr \oluntarism, to acnie\e
he was born and to remain there for morc than a welfare ~ociety
scvcnty-two hours. If he does, he is guilty of a crimi- S:mta Ba rbarn Afari·Gyao
nal offence puni"ihable by a fme not cJ:cecding ten California, U.S.A.
pounds or, 1:1 dcf. . ult. imprisollment for a pc.llod nol -------
e;'(ceeding Iw<) months. unless he has obtained a
pennit to do ~o. Open Leit er to the P.M .
Ir an Afncan. born In a 10\\'Tl. has Jj\-'ed there can· DEAR Dr, 13usia- It IS vcry unfortunate that during
tinuously for fifty years. no friend of his. who is an the last general elections the South Arrican policy was
African. i"i entltkd as of nght to visit and rem:lIn not an I. ... ue, Ho\\evcr. a fcw wcel..'i after you becamc
With him for more than seventy-two hours. Prime MIOIstcr of Ghana you Jet Ghana know that
you were gOlOg to reverse the policy that had becn
Unless he has obtained a special penni!. an African
profc"i"iOr delivering a lecture at a White club com· painstakingly pursued by he- and the OAU with res-
mits a crimm.!l offencc. pect to South Afr;ca But before Ihe grumbling<; in the
country could turn 1010 howls, your Foreign M'nlster
No African IS entitled as of right to acquire frce- very cle\'crly (but not totally) e'plained away that un-
hold title to I:::.nd anyv.hcre in South Afne:!. nor 1:. African idea hy ~aying that you were just "wondering"
il the intcntion of Ihe prcscnt governmcnt ,:\er to whethcr il would not be worthwhile seeking a "dia-
grant such nght to tbe African, cvcn In hiS OWIl IClgue" with South Af-ica Unfortunately, you scem not
Reserves. to be wondering any more but aTe ra ther advocatlOg
a Munich-type appeasement policy lowards South
If an Indian (or a Coloured or an African) sits on
a bench in a public park, the bench being sct apart Africa. Perhap!> Ihi .. is now the policy of the Progress
party of Ghana" Or IS it the policy of Dr Busia')
for the e-:du"ii\e use of \Vhite persons. by way 0f
protest again·.1 the apartheid laws. he comm'" a The Progress party should let the country know!
criminal offc.,.:e and is hable to a fine not exceeding Thc parliament of Ghana. not long ago, unanimously
threc hundred pounds. or to Impri"ionment for II adopted a motion 10 the effect that Ghana still believes
~nod not e'(ceeding three. years, or to hoth "u<.:h In and plans to continuc ItS well-tested and long-
fine and such impri"ionment, or to both ~uch Impn- stand;ng policy towards South Africa, a policy which
sonment and such whipping. .. In concert with that of the OAU. Sincc parliament
I~ suppo<;ed 10 renect the sentIments and wishes of
No Afrit·an. l:lwfully r~sidlOg in a town by "ir1ue the people of Ghana, I wonder why you have choscn
of a permit i,<;ued to him. is entitled. as of nght, to di~regard the true and s;nce-e wishes of Ghanaians
to have hi" wife and children reside with h1m m favour of the policy of "dialogue" (capitulation IS
Senator Rubin, in those dap. rcprc~cnted the Afncans a better \\ord).
of the Cape: ProVInce (excluding the Transl...ei) 10 the Dialogue was pu~ued as a policy by many counlries
Sooth African &03te. before South Africa left thc Commonwealth. Dialo@:ue
P.O Box 8 .75 K ofi Boakre was u<;cd as a policy be fore sanctions we re sought in
eo-....m it)' No. 1 the UN against South Africa Dialogue is still bemg
T_ pursued by Malawi, Botswana and Lesotbo, without
20 TIlE LEGON OBSERVER 4 December 1970
any visible advantage to those countrieS. Do you recall capitulate. The whole history of Africa since tbe arri.a
Macmillan's "Wind of Change" speech1 Was it nOI in at of tbe white man has been one of a series of Africaa
dfcct an appeal to the racist regime in South Africa capitulations. And that is why wt: are still looted.
to seck a dialogue with the Black majority? What effect down upon, or at best pitied and treated like cbildrea
did that speech have on the regime'? Black South o!J ovu th~ 'III·orld. And that is a faet, whether you
Mrican leaders for many years sougbt a dialogue ~ith realise it or not.
the: white minority, without results. When tbey changed It has been thirteen (almost fourteen) lana yean
their tactics to non-violent protest marches (a form of since independence, yet what bave: we to show for it?
militant dialogue), the whole world was shocked by For the first nine years after independence we wen:
the reaction of the white minority. The idea was to starving, but at least we had a lot of respect in the
teach tbe black Africans a lesson that tbey would nc\--cr non-aligned world and some. measure of respect in the
forget-that it does not pay to cballenge a white man! aligned world Now, thirteen years after independence,
Vou do remember the Sharpville massacre, don't you? we are not only still starving but we h;t.ve NO respect
You have said time and again that one would be left to us anywhere in this world. And instead of you
IUrprised how much one could achieve by sitting down and your government co-operating with the rest of Afn-
and baving a cup of tea with a white man. That's ca to give the African some dignifY and respect you
",hi. Onc would really be surprised Since we came are hobnobbing with Heatb. I am certain that Trudeau
into contact with white men we bave sat down with must havc found you very interesting if not intriguing!
them and drunk enough tea to fonn an ocean. What
1ft have achieved by that stares botb you and me in The old adage sa}-"S; "Power corrupts and absolute
the face. power corrupts absolutely". You yourself ha,,'e said
that power is hke sweet wine-the more you bavc, the
Why are we still underdeveloped? Is it bxause we more drunk you become. I would also Hke to add my
~ any lazier than the Englishmen. or the white South own variation on the theme: "Power blinds meo to
Africans whom you seem to like so much'? Or is it ruJities; tbe more power tbey bave the more un-
because it is not in the interest of tbe white oligarchy realistic tbey become"
of this world that Africa should become strong eoough
to be a threat to their selfish interests? Why is it that You, as Kof; Bus;a, may find it easy to get aloog
you don't seem to be making any visible headway with with your white friends over a cup of tea, because they
your debts, whilst other countries, notably tbe white know you as Kofi Busia~xford don, former pro£es.
ones, don't appear to have any problems with tbeirs? sor at The Hague, at Leiden, in Mexico, and in Ghana;
Do we owe more than, say, the UAR or Indonesia or visiting professor to tbe U .S., etc. But I would defi·
Great Britain? What bappened to almost-dead-but· nitely be surprised to find you as an average African
futilely-trying-to-kid: Great Britain, when sbe was in getting along in Britain, the U .S, South Africa. and
extreme financial straits? Recall the massive efforts even in Ghana, as well as you do as Kofi Busia, the
mounted by the whole of tbe western world to help professor. Because, you see, Or. Dusia, all the A[rican
ber. professors and VIPs (not you alone) wbo drink. tea witb
I cannot compare Ghana with Great Britain in this their white friends get along witb them too.
case? You are right I cannot, because Britain is more But tbat is not wbat Ghana's foreign policy is about.
important to the world than we are. And that is just it. Ghana is interested in the ordinary African, from pro-
We DON'T count! In terms of power politics, we are fessor to labourer; in the wbole continent of Africa
Dot important. The whole of Black Africa is not consI- having some dignity and respect, for a change. The
dered important enough to worry about. This is why type of respect that a poor. under-developed country
&aDclions have not succeeded. This is why Great Bn· like North Vietnam (many times poorer than Ghana)
tain is ignoring the protests of a whole continent over can have even i.n the eyes of the most powerful O.it-
the South Africa arms sale issue. And instead of join- tions in the world today, the U.S and the U.SS R. We
ing with your fellow Africans to fend for ourselves and may not need to fight a guerrilla war (like the. vq in
Jetting the self-proclaimed master race know that we order to win that dignity. But surely the "cup of tea"
may be poor but are stilt proud, you talk appeasement diplomacy and the "I-am-not.like-the.rest-()f_them"
Yes, poor we may be, but we are not without dignity. "lance are ridiculous, to say the least?
At a time when Africa is at last becoming united (even Perbaps I am just blowing a lot of bot air. I don't
if slowly); when all Africa is trying to isolate the know wbat I am talking about, you might say. In that
South African whites and force them to realize tbat case, please could you tell the whole of Ghana how you
they live in this world with both blad: and white propose to sow and reap where others have: sown but
human beings, and not with only white Boers; at this not been able to reap? How you propose to make
very crucial period in our history, you undercut Africa. your cup of tea taste better tban every other African's
You betray the OAU by going to white friends and tell· cup of tea? Until you have explained that programme
ing them that all that your fellow Africans are doing to Ghanaians and obtained their approval of it, please
is wron,. stop making those defeatist statements on South Africa.
Perhaps you know more than most of us do, and you
Britain as Vt'ell as South Africa has known all along probably have enough foresight to see what we ordi-
that Africans are just making noiKS about the South nary mortals cannot see; but until you can convInce ua
African and Rhodesi:m issues; tbat when the real test of the rightness of your policy of "Dialogue",
comes, there will always be Busias, Bandas, Bongo, please stop commiting us all.
and Boigoys, who will break with their fellow Africans. May the Good Lord add to your wisdom to know
Africans are too wcak to be taken ~riously: and they ..... at you an: doing!
lite the soft. lazy life so much that all one has to
YOUR sincerely.
do is put them up in luxury, CJ(e~ a little pressure on C/o Dept. of Agriculture F. G. M :
them, show a little bit of obstinacy, and they will I ......
[D 1970 THE LEGON OBSERVER 21
/
f',f Into the U.N. to maL.e tbat organisation truly ~caningisce1 1 an eous rul.
China's ca ll for a complete destruction f nuclear
anNA AND WORLD PEACE wcapons at a time when delegates deliber:rte over toe
Strategic Arms Limitations in HelsinL..i shlu·ld be cons-
By trued to mea~ a desire for peace for our planet As
Dennis Adjei-Brcnyah such it should be viewed with all seriousness and given
all the necessary attention. We should not fight 10 make
FEW wed.s ago, the Strategic: Arms-Limitation Talks the world safe for anything--democracy or utherwise.
resumed in HelsinkI. It was a hcar1enillg .. lory to We should "fight" to make the world safe for humanity
~ r. uneasy world. But even more heartening and jllcasing and civilization. For that is the prime concern of man -
~I peace loving peoples the world over was the uramatlc L.ind To China and 311 peace-Io,·;ng peoples I say that
i call for a world summit to formulatc pl .. ns tOT call was 3. great call- it was one giant Icap forward in
total annihilation of nuclear weapons. • Editor's quotation marksl
The Chinese a TC a progressive people. Maoism is a
J: )g~ philosopby. Chinese progressiVIsm and
are one and the same thing. But no one., not
Mao himself, fully understands the Chinese people. Book Review
t uur. whether we understand Maoism or not is largely
irrelevant. What is relevant is. we understand and want
peao:.. Because of the Chinese 'peculiar' ·charactcr, peo- FOREIGN AID, SELECTED READINGS, PENGUIN
ple interested in world peace try :0 understand any new BOOKS, 1970
theory that comes from China. This underlines the Edited by
mterest In the dramatic Chinese call for a wholesale Jagdisb Bhagwati and R idUlrd S. EukaD!f
destruction of nuclear weapons. Reviewed by T . K. Cavanagh
China today is a world force. She is a nuclear power
and as such she understands the horror of nuclear war THERE IS much to worry about in this old world ot
Most pcople cannot really appreciate the cnonnous de - ours. Ecological crises. The generation gap. Mid East
struction tbat a nuc\ea~ war can unleash on this planet troubles. War in Vietnam. Pennissive societics. Absence
has been claimed that Cbina says shc really does not of moral leadcrship. Student unrest. Marriage or goU It
mind causing a nuclear war becal::sc of her enonnous game. But if you r~ally want to do some serious worry-
population_ Whethcr this is true or not China now makes ing in a big way, try this: 20 per cent of the world-,
a great call to all peacc-Ioving nations. And pcace IS population controls 80 per cent of its wealth, the expe:c.
or should the prime concern of al\ mankind . tations of the poor are rising, and if the imbalance: i~ be
This is not the first timc China has made such a call. not corrected soon we can expect ange.r and violence
Six years ago, likc the lone voicc the wildemess. she on a scale that will make revolutions of the past look. In
raised this issue. That call was not treated with thc like disputes ov~r the price of tomatoes .at Makola
attentIOn it merited Now that China is also a nuclear Markel.
power, she should be accorded the full attention of all Concerned individuab, governments, and world orga- J
nizations are focussing more and more attention OD
people!:. foreign aid. Rightly so. for it is through aid programmc£
Th~re are some who might harbour the fear that that we seek to sct the balance right between the nch
Chma is not seriou<; in this call, others might say 'China and poor nations by achieving something known ell!
IS only attempting to camounage a world Il1mty of 'self-sustaining growth' on the part of the Idttcr cou n-
genuine peace and thereby gain the upper-hand in the tries. Within the past twelve months internati.mal agen-
race for those super deadly we1pons·. But there is one cies and governments ba''C issued a ~ries of ReporU
message that is loud and dear The 700 million Chinese ~uch as he Pearson Report, the Peterson Rellorts., and
arc as su~ptible and as vulnerable as the 200 million the Jack.50o Report. These tomes consider the w~knes5es
people. of the United States. The nuclear wcapons In of foreign aid programmes during tbe First Decade of
American hands are adequate for the hoge population Development. offer positive recommendations for tbe
of Olina. China knows fully well that that if ever there Second Decade of Development, and general\y t:nJOlD
wac. a nuclear war it would be an illusion to believ"C that the ricb nations to do more The inte~ted citizen,
their enemy would lea'·e some Chinese alonc to populate however, may find these worL.s difficult to· come by_
the earth. Moreo. ..· er. g.ovemment committees ha'·e never won
This is the horror of the worid in which we livc. praise. for electrifying, or even readable, prose. More
"ManL.lnd must put an cnd to war or war will put an end readily at hand for tbose interested in the subject is a
'n3nkind·'. ~o s..,id the late John Kennedy. YniS IS the recent (1970) Penguin paperback edition entitled simply
tI'.' -ruth about a nuclear war It would therefore be F~~:::n Aid_ It has ,I.! shortcomings, but it is cheap,
gn~ ~ 'nse help If world leaders accept the Chinese available, and welcome.
of Imml "'iiti,·c action towards the cause of peace. . The book; consiSl$ of a series of thirteen 3rticle, by
call to fIl rcum~tances of the ",arid. on~ rcalise'! with dlfJer~nt ~conomi~ experts, grouped under such headings
In the CI 'ame that China. a country with 700 million a ... obJectlvcs of foreign aid . crituia for the allocation
shock and sl. outside the United Nations. The world ot aid. the distribution of the aid burlten amongst donor
people. stays ealise thaI China's a~encc in the U.N countries. the pros and cons of multilateral as opposed
~ould now .1 pairs the univemlity of the United Na- to ~iI.ate~1 aid. the tying-up o{ aid, and, finally, :l-
dIsastrously Im'1isation on whose thin threat hangs .he conSideration of the wide raminCiltions of the di~posat
hons-the orga. \ sun·j\-·al. China should be admitted of rommoditics such as wbc:!.t and cotton in develop1na
luture of bwn:u
,
THE LEGON OBSERVER
countries.
In collcc:tioru such .s this. one expects to find un- governments imperils economic dcvelo.......... and
eoveness i.D the qualify of writinl. in the clarity of u- rising standard of living. Surely a matter or 6ctioa,
pression, aM in the value of the different parts There fad, He states that foreign aid threatens frcedam ....
are lOme parts of articles that pron practically unintc- democracy, and that SUpporters of forei,n aid in the U.:l
Ui,ible to the lay reader and are dearly intended for the are communist dupes. Mort mythology. The 3Uthor"t
trained experts in the dismal science. But on f>alance. eulogy on free competition can be countered by Pope
if the reader pe.rsevercs through the terrible jargon and Paul's words on the same subject:
Itims over the. m)'3terious algebraic: quotation he should or course, highly Industrialized nations exp:>rt fat
be rewarded with • more thOTOUgh understanding uf Ihe most part manufactured goods, while countries
lOme of the problems of forcicn aid. with less devcloped economies have only food, fibres
Readin&: of the book will make it clear that there is and other raw materials to sell. As a result of techrti.
very little ,ivins in foreign aid. As • rule most of what cal progress the value of manufactured ,oocb is n.
is liven must be liven back. and usually with intcI'C:!:oL pidly increasing and they can always find liD adequatr.
There is also the practice of 'tying .id' to ensure thai market. On the other hand, raw materials produced
the reocivin, country spends the aid for goods and by underdeveloped counlrieJ are subject to wide and
.ervices in the donor country , Mr. Bhagwati's invest.ga- sudden fluctuations in price ., As a result ... tbe
tion or this subject is one oC the most enlightening poor nations remain ever poor while the ricb ones
articles in the book. It may be common knowledge in become still ricber.
lOme circles, but to me it arne as a surprise to learn Friedman's references to free enterprise are at be5t mis-
that "it is correct to argue that all US. granb have now leading. He speaks of the creation of :an "environment
become virtually 100 per cent tied to the U.s. "(p.243)". favourable to competition and individual enterprise".
The prutioe is not peculiar to tb~ United States foreign (p_14) But is this the type of environment created by
aid programme nor need it alwaY5 be done fo nnally. General MOlors whose operating expenses uc:ecd those of
Thus, a donor country may not monopolize contracts most independent states, and whose cash wages ~~ more
that it finances lor its own nationals, but "a prudent than, the national income of Ireland? Is there any con.
recipient govemment can be expected to treat the capi- nectJon at all between the free enterprise image of small
tal assistaoce as errectively tied even though . .. an independent shopkeepers on the one hand, and on the
international bidding procedure might have reduced other hand, Standard Oil which has three times more
costs". (p.24S) Mr. Bhagwati reHerts the gener.:ll tone of people working overseas than the United States Depart.
the book in his scholarly. balanoed, judjcious, and fair ment? Mr. Friedman has chosen to talk: about free enter.
appn.isal of the topic. The article was first published prise; one only wishes he had aplained how be is usinl
in 1967. In the 1970'$ we ... ill see a trend towards the it. Most irritating of all, he stumbles unseeiQlly over
untying of aid. How far it will go is difficult to project. o~e of the most pertinent problems relevant to foreign
However, the Canadian government recently announced aid when he hails Singer Sewing Machine, Coca--Cola.
that 20 per cent of total bilateral allocations will be and Hollywood for spreading knowledge and under.
completed untied, ,nd it is working ... ith other donor standing of the U.S. Alas. too true. But personally, I
countries towards ,greements on measures to untie aid would opt every time for aid, th~ U.S.I.S., and the Peace
on a multilateral basis. President Nixon, following his Corps over free compe.tition. Cocoa--Cola .1.nd Raquel
receipt of the Peterson Report, has also promised f OOt Welch The best one can say about this article is that
nc...- U.s. approach to foreign assistance in the 1970's". it is relatively short.
Two articles by T . Balogh olJ\d P. N . Rosenstein- Other parts of the book are more satisfying_ T
Rodan orIer valuable insighb into the thorny question Schultz discusses the effect of surplus-commodlty-disposal
fill lJila.tctaJ as oppJsed to multilatual aid. Givinc: full programmes on recipient countries. WritilJ!: in 1960, hlJ
ac:knowledgement to the ideas of men like Senator Ful- observations were necessarily tentative. Yet he did warn
bright of the U.s _, Mr. Balogh presents the case agailMl about the impairment of agriculture in developinz: coun.
bilateral aid. His main thesis, however, is that the best tries that could follow from food aid programmes, and
hope for the future. lies in relonn not rejection of bi· suggested positive measures "to counterbalance these
lateral channels because 'He need rar treater and more adverse effects". (p.3IS) Apparently these measurt:S were
bilateral aid. "In fact, we need both bilaten,l and multi- not taken. The PearsoD Report also refers to the nega.
lateral e:hannels because we need far ,reater and more live consequences of food aid programmes and advocates
dfct1ive action". (p.219) Given the complexity and pro- an increase in loans and granb to tm'Ioedy the situation.
blems of fordgn aid one naturally suspects that thert One wisbes to be optimistic, but it is depressin, to find
is no simple right or wronl approach, and both artid~ the experts still struggling to move off .square one aftel
confirm this 5lIspicion. The Peaf50D Rq,ol1 (1910) indi- a ten year intc.rval.
cates that W'C can expect a trend in thi, decade that will As a last observation. it seems wondrous stranle that
cohere with the general recommendations of the two in such a rapidly changing subject areas as foreign aid
authors. i.e., the consortia technique combining both it was necessary for the editors to draw on the perivd
the bilater.ll and multilateral approach to foreign aid. 1958·1965 for more than fifty per cent of the articl'
Mr. M. Friedman's article on means and objectives Are these the best most recent articles? Perhaps. .:s.
in foreign aid is the weakest IClection in the book. It some brief comment about this in the introd' But
was included to counterbalance a preceding and more would have been most wclcome and would have r ..Iellon
optimistic conaideration or the: ume topic by G . Ohlin. • lot of naging doubt.s that disturbed this rea. emo\-ed
The wcakneues in the whole concept and operation of ~ginning to end Jc:- from
foreign aid noed to be examined but it is a mystery why The editors made no etrort to present a ..
the editors shffuld haTe chosen such a banal. mi~ire<:ted, study. They have, howc. .. cr, provided us wit' dd\nlll\e
and supuficial study for Inclusion in the book. Mr. and inrormative study about a rmtter that i,l\ • helprtll
Fried ... an &rJUC.I that any tiod of ccntnl plannina b)' to alL ~ of tnterest
THE LEGON OBSERVER 4 December 1970
•I n
...... _... ..
<Nt
QACAJI lAM.1I
Dot,TMUUl
ICUM,UI
lo.,.nflUD .. tAGOI
..... OJ ... ", '."0 • .1.01 C"('<.t .
A flight in a VC 10 of Ghana Airways is a
particularly relaxing experience. The sheer
comfort of the world's best liked jN Iint:r
makes a promising start. Add to this the
smoothness and silence of the Rolls Royce
jets. And the wannth and friendliness of our
hostesses. who make every passen~er feel
like 3. V.I.P. It's a recipe that adds up to
the smoothest 61 hours you ever spcnt.
I
/ ,
-A4-we"" '
AI·r ways
up in the air about ~.
$- I. 1IUOX1Q,I,Oft In'" BJ).~ C
....
"-
... IXcc:mbcr 1970
- rHE LEGON OBSlRVER
--
"n"t.d h, 11K I ,~. .. ", ,.. ...... lid 'cor IIw. I ~.~n: -:..c ~.-r=lr- :-ro:n- -":"-"":1-':1-1-' --","-.-,;"= (c.:b-"- ••••, UrI.no! l ..... '''~. "
l.d".r ...... "lC ",I'IIn
1-_ 1r~.u .I. .n...'.1.. . J ...\..,. ..".." Ie. . .. •,. u ....... Sur.u..n ....... -.~., "oJ~. 11>( LJn .. ~r"lr ,.f (;It.I"1 I'" • • n .... _ ,,_ _ ....1 .. ",. • ••
LEGON OBSERVER
•
SUPPLEMENT
JIERRA LEO N E-THE ROLE O F THE PRESS
By K. A. B. lones-Quartey
,NeE the first instalment of this brief series of .... ere little mimeographed affairs stapled together
frticl,,, on current politics in Sierra Leone, the to make four, six or eight sheets, and most of
tuation there has taken at least one remarkable them were of mushroom growth in the tradition of
(uron of development, namely the sudden revival of many predecessors, as of successors such as the
~n opposition press. On Saturday, 31st. October, one already out under the name of the People.
the Sierra Leone People's Party (S.L.P.P.) The People is printed. but you have to see this
la a new paper, the People, Vol. I. No.2 of :printing" to believe it!
. is now before me. It is a \\-eekly.
Now neither the proliferation of news-sheets,
Readers of our last issue will recall that Sarif especially at periods of political stress and anxiety;
In his Open letter to Prime Minister nor amateurishness in them, nor bad format nor
' Siaka Stevens had spoken about the then current poor printing. is in itself a reason for condemna-
rumour of an impending ban on the opposition tion of them. On the contrary. it is often to the
press, to be inOicted by the Premier himself. o .. er-whelming credit of the proprietors and
In fact this had then happened soon afterwards, editors that they take their courage in their hand,
and only two morning papers and one y,cekly and 10 patriotic self-sa..,crlfice venture into the
publication of any consequence had remained, perilous waters of oppositional political journalism.
all of them government o\\<ned or party controlled. After all, this is the tradition of some of the greatest
journalism in world history. And this is particu-
(One uses the qualifying phrase "of any conse-
quence" with larly, and ironically, true too of the history of very great reluctance, and only from
our own West African press itself.
the barest necessity for comparison among local
rivals. For in truth the Sierra leone newspapers
of the present day are of any consequence only Critical Difference
as journalistic cunos, or at most phenomena,
hardly as newspapers under any accepted definition.) The journalistic efforts of the pioneers: William
Drape in Sierra Leone and the Bannerman Bro-
Two-edged S,,"ord thers of Ghana. in the mid-1800s; of later ones
like Herbert Macaulay in Nigeria, and later still
In principle, the banning of any press from of Danquah and Azikiwe and Wallace 10hnson-
oublication, as a form of political punishment or a<; these were efforts made in the midst of greal
a means of removmg a troublesome technical handicaps, with lack of capital. plant, oppo~ition
\Ioeapon. is at best a thankless. graceless exercise in machinery and trained personnel, and with small
po'olooer. and at worst a ternble two-edged sword. markets their constant torturers. to say nothing of
As an evil necessity thi .. form of political puni<;h- the persecutions of the colonial power.
mcnt IS, in Africa. oflen Imitcd upon itself by an So \I.e have seen all thi~ before. But there is a
opposition press; cerlalnl} the so-called opposition critical difference between the old genre and the
newspapers suppressed b~ Mr. Stevens on this modern race of West African opposition journals
occasion were their o .... n executioners. One \Ioas that "e are discussing here. namely, in the language
called Truth. another The Probe. a third. the or the press. Language in the African press was
DaalJ £Jl"c~ and there "as .lIlother "hlch ne\er li .. elier, more spirited, more amusing. even
called itself Eacoualer. All four of these papers c\clting. than now. But the cxcitement these' days is
I
•
DOt ...........
...... WIIat Mr. lillIE,,",• •_ is !bat .... Is •
COllNT-DOWN lOa QUP .-- it, Is .... bo. a
GO':;aiiTlat waUl b ...., lie II
TIle poIilical COIIIIt-do"" for Ste-._ _ppoort -..... wbo.e.. . ·e •
ilia IIlpo. 'bb', take. cw"t-dowD "'we to. lot 01 IGGII
w"; Ii atarted wb~a be f:lmII to poaa. is DOW
IIIOYiq to poiDl, witb sial- TeD the pearh ... .,., d ; ..
..... 01 \be A.P.C. d"I, Iiuc !rim. lib rail SIewous.
d ~ I ut • doom Ed Ibip, wIridt is "'"Hi to sin'
Mr. Steu: • is • ltUbbtmnua nm: eD, be is a
From !be PlCt, of 30tb S 1'"1. .,.
doaFd me", be is • be is • aoocI
poIil.lca' he is a _ in \be art of
Dill
dO, IIblin. . be cambi" fI tile attributes of an
~Iqo." ·Richa.... Duke of GloUCOSler' If _look into
aDd ·M. ....i . ..I Ii,' in his poJi.i'l1 melbocJs. rule or Mr. Stu ...... ia .. '.p. "" .......
Bat .... bu tumed out to be • fool . . . Minister, we caD forti I C wbIt ...... au III
be if be weae m'de
From the nme iliac of the Esp r (p.3): This is to ..y /bat if be is ai' a ...
Mr. Ptiwe Minister, as some would lib to " ........
•
After leaminl about the re<eut cJisturbau<:es make us hi. slaves ill a matter or .*p' 7
aDd maltreat. ....t of the peace/W c:ili_s by I do t/>Iuk aud CCIDIf&ILIaIa Dr. ... I.
your tbup in the Kambjon Disbict, I am Foma IUd Mr. M. O. AIr
prompted to write you Ibis open letter in
order to Ii... left our uaIiouaI tyra&t to .-you a pM: co of my miud.
• which is IOOD ..... to briq lbol' dd_. . • • fall. I also wiab to thlak Mr. 1JI.1'IIII ..
Iu refereucc to your blatant IUd unfouuded bein& !be arcbitect of _
·reS tiona that Dr. Mohamed Foma and Tyrant.
Mr. Mohamud Bosb-Taqi resi8' ,~ from your
IOwaameut b«luse of their &iced for power, The decIaratioa of a State 10
Mr. Prime Minister let me tell you u otben typical of his totalitariaD inc' pL.
have be CD tryinl to do, that you are matins •
fool ofyounelf ••• I U. ..e forc 'W II to Mea. ..
For your interest • am a bona IUd brad CbiIcbeu of all WOIb (SIc) oflillr Ie jaiIl"
Sic"a J..eone.Lohan .... You ""'" DOte !bat IlrUp to ramo ... Ibis 6 ...
90" of your Lobauese supparten ......
aIr,"dy witbdrawu their IIlPJICIII for you, Yet Mr. Sjpn Sac u:" or, as· 7
u we ba... bad ..o ush of your do Moria! I*efer to caD hjm, Dr. $jeD
A.P.C. ",,1bI' A. for me. you wiD fty in hell, Minislea of LeoaIJI Aa
but you wiD uewor know who • _ or w. ...e which wail to aIMl ehwt " ? ..
I ....... .
F... the ..... of 23rd. S,pt. 1970:
IDITOIIIAL
1M U. aut Is ,...." _,« b.
Iu the lIut plva we wiab to pPinl _ wIlD W-..,
.... tile pecfle wIlD ... .... IMIiII ,
1970 SUPPLEMENT w•••
ET E
YOUR ADVERTISMENTS
MUST GIVE GOOD RETURNS
THE 'LEGON OBSERVER'
TAKES YOU TO THE PEOPLE
WHO TAKE NOTICE
ADVERTISE IN THE
'LEGON
OBSERVER'
IV SUPPLEMENT 41 ~. i'l~
they take are political: the ban, the "Close it turn to the question of the role of the press ill
down" order, the confiscation. And this power rational society.
to ban and to proscribe the press, like the irrespon- In a political situation of di5turbance 50 ser'jOlIl
sibility that invokes it, is, I repeat, a terrible two as to involy! death by violence. a state of national
edged sword. Let me illustrate both.
emergency, the arrest and detention "r notabL:
On the morning of the day of my arrival in citizens. the probability of mOTe explosions. fur.
Freetown the last time, that is, on Wednesday. ther violence and death , etc. elc.-in such a silua-
14th. October, 1970, the government owned and tion. can d responsible newspaper afford to report
party controlled section of the press had on a the capture from "enemy" hands of N¢122.500
big splash about the discovery of a large collection worth of arms and ammunition, when such a story
of arms and ammunition in the house of one of is purely mythical? For in fact the sorry collection
the detained ex-A. P. C. ministers. The Daily shown to me at the C.lD. headquarters (half in
Mail, the bigg~st paper in the country, onc of unconcealablc embarrassmenl and half with
tbe ex-Cecil King West African chain, and now suppressed giggles) consisted of four or five shot
a Sierra Leone government organ, had it in guns, some rusty old swords and cutla eS , a de-
banner headlines, cast in almost inch-high letters: mHohn said to contain raw acid, and ODe palmlul
of buJlets of various descriptions. The whole
mis.;:rable lookiong collection ''''as not worth ! of
100,000 pesewas!
LElOO,OOO ARMS FOUND IN U.D.P.
• MAN'S HOUSE
Exposing ~ictatorship'
Sicnce this and other reports of seizure of illicit More than that. The shot guns were all such
anns and ammunition from opposition politicians as it is permissible for citi7.cns to own. under
were now making the rounds freely and adding licence, in Sierra Leone; indeed two of them
dimensions al l the time to the already complex were obviously and loudly so owned. They were
picture. I specifically asked the Prime M inister It brand new llalian Meachi5. with the own~rs'
he would make it poss ible for me to go .lnd view names printed plainly on them And these names
Lhese captUied heaps of death dealmg fire-a rms were those of the two resIgned ministers: Dr.
and ammunition . The P.M. promptly agreed and Mohammed Forna and Mr. Mohammed Bash-
gave me :)cL:urity cover fo r a round of visits. first Taqi! Yet the Prime Minist~r had been led to
to the army headquarters and next to the C.l .D. imagine the country to be in danger of a distur-
At the army depot the young officer in charge bance the size of an armed imurrection, and even
of ordinance. Major 1. S. Momoh, showed me a of civil war - an arms and arnmunitioil cache
oollection of rounds of rifle ammunition (lumber- wo rth £50.1.XX) th <!11 being but the tip of the ice-
ing 652. This was out of a total of 850 rou nds berg ... The point to be ma1e here is that given
reported by the army to have been unlawfully the then and still current situation in Freetown.
taken from the ordinance stores and first bid:.1en the implications and potentialities of sucb a press
in the grounds of the headquarters buildings, ready story could have spelt disaster for both gov;!m-
for taking 2.way elsewhere. Luckily, the army had ment party aatd newspaper press. If the Daily Mail
recovered them. This exhihit was impres.:;lve had been lln opposition paper raising sucb alarms,
enough. if one accepted in good faith the offic ial it. instead of the Probes and the Expltsses, could
story of the theft and recapture; nor did I hnve have been the one banned 2nd suppressed. ex-
t;ood reason to reject or even to doubt it. On posing the government in tum to cries oi "Dicta-
tbe face of it and to that extent. therefore. the torship!" and heaping coals or fire on its head
P .M .'s faith in his forces and in the jus!lfication
of his apprehension of danger was largely 'i.Up- thereby.
ported. The press. however. is by no means the only
But this army side of the alarm about an inci- source or trouble in Sierra Leone. Indeed 11 is not
pient traffic in arms for unlawful purposes was an original source of troublt:; with its poor status
a separate and minor aspect of the whole situation. and lack .of basic requirements and professional-
When we CClmc to the real thing, however- the
captured "LEJ OO.OOO" arsenal- the Prime Mini!" ism, it only makes mallers worse when tbey are
ter was not so lucky. And It-.ereon hangs our re- already bad . Also, like so many others in Africa.
1970 SUPPLEMENT v
Sierra Leone press of modem times seems ssionaries and is noted as the school with the
be utterly Incapable of differentiating betwr.en largest number of Protectorate boys in Freetown.
i elre abuse an:::t scurrili ty on the one hand. and In my day the Academy also had the reputation
• ..1 1 ,..I~.I even tough. uncompromising crili- of being under-supplied in standards of teaching,
r Jity on the other. But then it reflects. a.ft:r all- plant, equipment and so on. This made worse the
Il it?-til~ behaviour patterns of the society two· tone nature of the structure of education and
of which it is a part. society III the country, which is, inevitably. part of
the sto ry of later and current socia l and political
The real. original sources of political instability
conOict bet ..... een the Krios and the Protectorate
Sierra Leone. as elsewhere. are first, cthnic peoples. It is, needless to remind the reader, part
resulting in lack of social -.:ohcsion; of the story we are now telling. •
Idly. th(;. fragility of its political institutions.
economic weakness. absence or inade- uJohn Karefa", as he IS also often called
'-J. of infrastfUctural provisions. and want of by some others, was mu\:h influenced under the
~:';,:'l~;e:~~ In the runn iag of modern establish- maIO thrust of the missionary effort in Africa,
,~ thirdly, an unwillingness to share .')Ov.er and namely winning souls for Christ. This influence
~n inability to differentiate between critidsm and was ex.erted on him at the Albert Academy, the
fourthly, 31fl inability to accept criticism, United Brethren-in-Christ (U. B. C.) mission
of a const ructive nature- a ph£l11omenon nOl Church, and later the Church Missionary Society
from Ghanaian politics by any m~ans ei · institution in Cline Town which is better known
and perhaps lastly but not )eastly, vbsess ivc to lhe world as Fourah Bay College, now the senior
~1 ambition for tbe enjoyment of power and member of the (federa l) University of Sierra
~LS material poss ibilities. Leone. (The junior partner is N'jala in the interior,
about 100 miles from Freetown and originally
an agricultural project and schooL) These three
Opposing Concentration o[ Power institutions are all in Freetown. Up in his own
homeground In Rotifunk, Karefa-Smart was
In the particular case of Sierra LeO:1c. one of under final missionary influence in the form of
the few individuals of popular standing whom the American semmary established there many
almost everyone w:)uld ex.oilerale of all political years now. and where John actually underwent
3Cld financial ambition is Raymond Sarif Ec:..smo(l. his local training for the priesthood. It is widely
There are of ccurse many notable men and w.o· known that he was eventually ordained, and he
men with equally clean record,; but who have not is probably still a minister of the U. B. C. Church.
concerned themselevs actively in political matters.
Of those who have, Easmon is certainly OUI· Mixture of Admiration
standing: but he has never sought political posi-
tion or favours. Of the politicians with whom But hi s hIgher education did nOl end there at
he identifieti him!ttlf recently-though only for Fourah Bay College and the Rotifunk seminary.
the one undevia ting purpose .of opposing the con- By the beginning of the second World War or
centratico:1 v[ power in one man- John Karefa- soon after the beginning - Karefa was a full medi-
Smart is a declared seeker after power. Dr Mo- cal doctor, having trained 10 Canada's McGill
hammed Forna is relatively untried in this field. University. As a doctor he enlisted for war service
while the Taqis and others a re. more than less, and became an officer in the Royal Canadian Air
established old hands in the power game. Force's medical corps. In his glamorous uniform
and shining bits of metal, John Karefa moved
This is a good point at which to introduce a around a loc between Canada. the United States
httle more fully than hitherto the personality and and, among other places, the Caribbean Islands.
Significance of Dr. John Karefa-Smart in the cur-
rent hi story of Sierra Leone ... Karefa ." as some (He was once posted to the Bahamas, during
call him for short. is of predominantly Temne the brief governship there of the Duke of Windsor,
..1rigin. the eldest of several brothers. He "as born ex-King Edward VII!.) We of the African student
and parlly bred in ROllfunk. :1 northern to\\n and
colony in New York used to regard John Karefa,
one of the larger ones of the erstv. hile Sierra Leone
"Protectorate." He v.ent to school in the Protecto- on his brief visits. with the usual mixture of admi-
rate and in Freetown . in the latter of .... hil.:h he ration , a ..... e. envy and, in his case, a certain amount
finished at the Albert Academy Secondary School. of disturbance m addition, for we #,sidered that
ThiS school "as founded by Amcr John was too noo-aligned with us and too much
SUPPLEMENT 4 n..:embor 1970
the other way with others.
illustrated in the famous questionnaire
Dr. Karefa-Smart's overseas and world expe- for the Republic Constitutional Review Commi.
rience continued unabated after the war and his ssion and meant to be a referendum to ascertain
udemob"; eventually he became a member of the will of the people for or against republicanism.
W. H. O. He also married a Western black girl The preparation of the questionnaire is largely
of high education and drive, with whom he has credited to the late Blyden Jenkins Johnston.
several children. (Rena Karefa-Smart has always Secretary, at the time, to the Commission. Johns~
been active in voluntary organisational work. and ton was a highly competent, highly experienced,
has done some speaking and writing too in her affectionately esteemedlPu blicservant ofm any years,.
time.) It was with this background that Karefa- but completely innocent of political education. His
Smart returned borne in the mid-Fifties and, later, questionnaire-if his it was- is an incredible do-
got into politics by joining Sir Milton Margai's cument.
Sierra Leone People's Party. The rest we have It sets out to seek the free, uninnuenced, ter.
already indicated bere and there in this series: tainly uncoerced, choice of the electorate: (1) for
In and out of his country ; in and out of political a change in the form of government or for reten-
office at home and international office abroad; tion of the status quo, and (2) for an ex.ecutive or
strongly with Sir Milton Margai and strongly ceremonial president. These, remember. are cur-
against Sir Albert; strongly for Siaka Stevens and, rently the national issues around which party
now, strongly against him- John Karefa-Smart and patriotic political passions are blazing. So
has had a truly chequered career as a politician. the questionnaire goes about seeking the mandate
of the people in this way :
• • •
Different Motivations
4. Q. Do you want a change ioto a Republi-
When Raymond Easmon- unexpectedly for some can Fonn of Government?
people, unaccountably for others-joined Karefa- A.
Smart to denounce Siaka Stevens in public on 13th (a) Q. If yes, why?
September, 1970. the two men were working on A.
separate and different motivations altogether. (b) Q. If no, why?
We have indicated that before: Karefa-Smart
had come back to . claim the rewards of his mor. 5. Q. What kind of President do you want for
al and, even more, his massive material support a Republican Sierra Leone? A.
to Stevens through thick: and thin during
the latter's days in tbe wilderness; his' defection
subsequently and tbe organisation of bis new 6. Q. If the President is ceremonial, should he
and promptly aborted party were largely and have any Executive powers 1
admittedly the direct result of frustration of per- A.
sonal ambition. though backed by tbe discontent (a) Q. If the Ceromonial President
of others. The actions of Easmon. on the other should have Executive powers,
hand. were the result of the culmination of hi s please state the Powersyousug-
progressive disenchantment with his old friend gest he should have.
the Prime Minister. and his ineradicable fear that (b) Q. If the President is Executive,
Stevens was in danger of turning himself into a what should be his powers and
second Nkrumah. Albert Magai. Sekou Toure, what should be the checks on
Banda, or any of the others he so passionately such powers?
believes to be running Africa headlong into
permanent political un viability. Raymond Easmon's The questionnaire next moves to the matter of tbe
courts, and asks:
discontent ma.y have led him into extreme forms
or reaction and into the wrong choice of weapons,
in Ihe eyes of some; but no one can acuse him 12 Q. What hierarchy of Courts would you
of doing anything in aid of, or because of recommend?
frustration in, Raymond Easmoo's personal am- A.
bitions. Q. Should Sierra leone retain Appeals to
tbe Privy Council after becoming a
The bid towards an executive presidency which Repuhlic?
he saw in the trends and which Siaka Stevens has A.
vehemently denied off and on, was for Easmon Q. Why?
1970 SUPPLEMENT vii
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A.
Q. .... lIs re ..... s' CI I .,
A,...a ....... lM.s!
A.
Q.
A.
7 tU.
TIle. s ......... Eal .fadionsla ... w bi
is wi" to b g,l _ DOt to ,nil.) .. • • llue A IIJlIIS' ad, 7 s ,,',"
"II II t. .. dje'i,KtflOlllapurely... ' Po. II fun, • lilt ......... n It iI 'dl ..,
TIle ..... " ~I to uk wltttJr- Ibe
if be II _-..iaI. IIIoukl haw tbIt .. ",'• • *11 oL ....' 41~_ 7 re
alhe po• ••! Apin. the dOC:UDlCiiI is .bIo- lear Ilia wbo are ";..,1'11 to ........._ e
I s ~ ....f u .. ~ .bout the JepI and judicial statUI back" at the Krioa, ......... as "I ....
<II .. iDoIo; IIId It republic, ~ calls a_lion times as possible, if &bet ..... a., ....
aIorinIIY to Ibe ; c _idl _ial_talitt 0''':- W. Iha\I DOl dOle to ,...,1It
wei pNVioaoIy. wbeu it alb whether Si. .. a I..coDe si". .. PJCb would be boIb ..d .ntions ...
.....1 11 retain a", c*.' to the Privy Counca1 ..... We caD oaIy b6pe that Sial_ 1 __ ..
Republic.. further troable, by tile
this questionnaire mUll be • ..,mcd to rationaJitt 0\'Or .. intenlal
haw ....e d ..r oush at least a minimum number klden.
of "III. ad bCEn ...n bt at least a few other
;eopIe in authority before finalisation ad distri- --- ---- - -- -
bution. the political · .......n cy behind it ...o nnot
escape emph-sjl, Howe.a, it is fair to add that a CHANGE OF
aood m.ny individuals in Freetown wae highly
coatemptuous of the document iD conversation,
~ not a1-JI for ill ......t ial naivete in parts EDITORS
--it was allOimprti"'bly unIDlwcrable,elJewbere.
due to complete impncticality. I __ told that in
fact very few returns had come or \1Werc
com•m l m• •..• DR. KWAME ARHIN
or -*' bas since L.O. Vol V No. 23 Ilw 71
The state of emerseney continues in Sierra DR. J. M. ASSIMENG
Leone; the .. rested oppositional leaden are stiD
in d • ...,tion; the oppositional newsheets bonned as Editor of the
bt the so-nm.nt remain 10; ~ the ..n y that
Karef• .sman and hi. friends attempted to esta- LEGON OBSERVER
blish stays banned also. In addition to these ODD-
ditioes, there i. the unsettled and unsettlinS busi-
ness of the two-yean-old treason trials involvins.
others. the former Head or State, ex-
Andrew Juxon-Smith. Ind the COiuA
Au..ne/-General Mr. B. ....n Ma. .u lay. Add
furtber to ..i s Ibe .... of .N" out of 12 army
olli. ... now ,.potted to be on trial for conspiracy Are You
to"'l a ooup Ind the cup of political troubles
for Ptimc Minister Silt· Ste.I CIII am be "id
to be JII By full. On Our
The lDureta of are. in shon. many. ud
Ibe of iDOIe exp\osioDl ~ of busk• Su
,it". ... law ud cad • or in poI;tical equiIi-
Bat Mr. hu .... ad-
THE LEGON OBSERVER
SUPPLEMENT
GOVERNMENT AND OPPOSITION IN
ERRA LEONE-THE CLOUDS RE-FORM
By K. A. B. JONES·QUARTEY
AROUND the massive. narrow-corridored law CourlS and a dress rehearsal for the drama of Monday the
building in Freetown, on Saturday. 17th October 1970, 19th and Tuesday the 20th. For these were the dates
• two-part crowd milled about all day, excited by two of the meeting of parliament at wbicb the P rime Minis-
events closely linked in lime but completely different ter: (I) sougbt and got the acquiescence of the House
in nature.. The crowds wefe composed of large numbers on his motion "that a state of emergency [e:t.istedJ in
of citizens on the onc hand and. on the other, large Sierra Leone", and (2) asked that ministers who had
numbers of police with truncheons and soldiers in full carried out certain duties. from the 14th of September
action dress. In the morning these unifonned forces to date, in connection with a disturbed state of political
were massed around the Law Courts buildings and affairs since that date, should be indemnified by an act
environs. at the. ready to dcal with any eventualities; of parliament for those perfonnances. The anny and
for a habeas rorpus hearing was due in court that day, the police on these occasions bad only moved their
filed in Cavour of the opposition leaders then and still guard about a mere 500 yards up and then all the way to
held in dc.I.ention by order of the govemment of Prime Towerhill, ~bc.re sits the dark brown, modenlistic pile
Minister Siala Stevens. that is Sierra Leone's National Assembly. There the
'A SCale of Emergency' security was thick, though by no means awesClme; busi-
nesslike in their searcbing and frisking, but not hostile.
The morning crowd, mostly supporters and members
of the ruling party. the All Peoples Congress (A.P.C.). The Prime Minister, greeted on entry by a standing
were of course there to see what was going to happen house but a seated opposition, moved on this first day
and. by the nature of the c\'entuaiities, to cheer, to jeer (Monday the 19th) his motion for a declaration of emer·
or perhaps even to get into a scume or two among cency. In his speech introducing the motion Mr. Stevens
themselves. ranged political opponents as some of them made five points:
were_ But vcry little happened during this half of the
I. That. following certain events of a political nature
day. c.:~cept for the noisy mixture of loud speCUlation, within his party and gOYemment, there had been
light hearted banter and threats of political hell·fire a series of disturbing incidents in tbe country since
and damnation each against the other side. For the
the 13th of September. te.nding to tbe d isruption
court action was adjourned after all. having been men·
of peaceful conditions and relations. He cited at
tloned once before and then fixed for hearing on this least five occasions between then and now when
Saturday morning_
there had been assault and fighting. attack with
The morning .... I.;s~ion .. then merged into the .uter· raw acid, rioting and death. etcetera, Upon
noons' ewn feature evcnt. namely the selection of "Mi~ growing pressu res on him he had been obliged, he
Sierra Leone 1970" (in which. incidentally. this observer stated. to arrest and detain certain indi,-iduals, in-
was pre<;scd into scn icc as one of five judges chosen cluding two resigned mini~ters. who had fonned
"0 the spot!) Thus the two events were of diametricall}' a new and disrupti\e political party responsible for
opposite nature but united. on the one hand. by the the prescnt state of Unrest;
unabated intere~t of the two cro. .... ds of civilians. while
at the same time disconnccted by the presence of sol. 2 that a new and really dangerous element had only
du~:rs and police. both times. in \::J.rge numbers. In point just developed. namely. an assembling of anns and
of fact in the afternoon the uniforms were only engaged ammunition by the anti.go\-emment interests. ob-
In the long proce;.s of returning to barracks. but as long viously for unlawful purposes: also, he said, It had
as they werc around. their presence was incongruous been discovered that letters were being sent to peo·
with the kind of atmosphere you would expect at the pIe by the detainees - c\·cn from prison!
tite of a beauty competition. offering bnbcs for unl~wrul activities.
Howc.\·er. incongruous or not. the actl\ltlCS of the l that the consequences of such a trend of affairs
anny and the police in this area of Freetown on Satur· Included threats of disorder. as well as bad effects
day the 17th of Octob« was in fact but a preludl! to on development projects and on the intemalional
..
u SUPPLEMENT 6 November 1970
.... ,.. ..
Beware of imitations
J
• SUPER SOFf
to 100'70 WOOD FREE
• WET STRONG
•
• PERFORATED 100'70 MAXIMUM
• COMFORT
• ANTISEPTIC 100'70 CHEMICALLY
• FREE FROM LIME
•
AV AlLABLE FROM ALL LEADING STORES
SANITRY PAPER PRODUCT LTD.
1970 iii
relations on which IUch projects so often depend charge. that the Prime Minister had then IODC on to
(by way of aid. loans. contracts, ctc.): take emergency and extreme measures like arrestt aDd
detentions, the declaration of an crnugenc:y. and the like,
that be bad thouabt of brinling forward the next when , in the considered opinion of the opposition. all
leneral election in order to meet tbe demands and that had been nceded were the serviCCl of the police
desires of the opposition. but now, in view of these and a recourse to the coum. ... The government's
develop:nults, be wu inclined to forcel ahout the denials and counter-claims against these argumc:llts,
ide.: before, during and since this debate, were hardly IUcb
that be would appeal to the opposition for their as could have won any but a party.majority vote.
,oodwill and co-opention in the interest of the (Next day. the government also got their vote on indeID·
whole country. But it this was nol forthcoming. nification for ministerial acts perlonnc.d as duty durina
Iben he had a duty to perform in carrying out his the emergency).
pany's dear mandate to govern the country, whid! Behind lIle happenings of these two days in Parlia-
was exactly what he intended to do; he would USl: ment lies a story whicb goes back some eigbt y ... rs to
hi. full powers in doing this, holding everybody 1963 and the dealh of Sir Milton Margai : patriarch,
to the demanm of law and order, witbout excep- organiser and first Leader of the Sierra Leone Peoples
tion. Party (S.L.P.P.), first Prime Minister of Sierra Leone
Mr. Siaka Stevens is an old, experienced political Readers of the Lcgon Observer will recall from our
and one of the greatest performers in the accounts of the incidents tbat on the death of Sir
anywhere. His language may not alway~ be of Milton there had been a titanic intra·party struggle
most correct or the most polished, but it is always for succession and power. The two contestants were
the most skilled and effective, (ull of wit . scorn Sir Milton's younger b.-otber, Mr. Oater Sir) Albert
tnowlcdce of his side of the C'aX, If'aSSroots Margai, and Dr. John Karefa-Smart. Kare(a·Smart is
in bandling it, and powen .:>f mollifica- the brilliant, mercurial internationalist medical man
and persuasion as well. All these he. tumed on in (W.H.O. Deputy-Director, wartime Canadian R .A.F .
in bis speech, on tbis as on most such occasions. medical cor-ps), wbo has a'so developed into the
in debate the opponents are not sitting on their great question mark of Sierra Leone politics of the
":;~~ waitinl for numerous reasons for wbi..!h to admire current decade, m addition to being a longtime
~ antagonists' accomplishments. And on this occa- minister of religion.
sion the opposition-numbering only 10 to the Bovern-
ment's 42, plus nine committed cbicf~ave the Prime
Minister no comfort for hi. pains Metamorpboses
In tbe end, and as a way of avoiding really acrious
ReaDy a Party Crisis trouble, Albert Margai was given the preference and
eventually succeeded to bis brother's premiership; all
The leader or the Opposition, Mr. Jusu Shentt', and other reckonings aside, bis supporters ~ievcd him to
bis nine lonesome colleaguC5. had challenBed Mr. SIe- be the more dynamic of the two men, the. one. more
~ns' speech all the way. throwinB as many exclama· likely to carry out reforms of a modern and pr~
tions or contanpt and ridicule at the Prime Mifl ister gressive nature. Alas, these hopes were dashed on the.
as the latter bad burled threats and sarcasms at them rocks or Sir Albert's progressive autocracy and his
Now Mr_ Sheriff ro~ to the P.M's challenge and dis- government's massive corruption; be was duly over-
missed it, in effect, as completely unworthy of the time thrown withm the vortex of a double-coup in March
and attent ion or a serious opposition. Mr. Sheriff de- 1967. This was the first of a series of spectacular
clared that the P.M. bad not invited the opposition coups marking SIerra Leone's own emergence. In
into consultation, in a situation which he was claiming Africa's Decade of Coups, which the Sixties were.
to be: or the. character and proportions or a national Meanwhile. Jobn Karcfa-Smart was goine throuch
anerzency but which was In ract and in reality no more the metamor-phoses In political alliance, sandwiched
(and no less) than an internal crisis within the rulinB betv..-ecn returns to hIS international medical desk at
party itselr. as the Prime Minister welt knew. W RO_, whicb bave made him Ihe question mark we
Mr. Sherifi' said that the co operation Mr Stevens described before. In 1964, the year after Albert Mar-
was now demandlRC of the opposition was not the kind gai won t~e S.L.P P leadership. Karefa-Sma., resign-
he .. hould be dem.anding. and certainly could not he ,:x. cd from hiS old J)<!rty and joined Siab Stevens's All
pcctcd to be rorthcoming from any opposition members Peoples' Congress (A P C.) The A P .C. remained in
But this was comparati"ely mild rare.. Stronger meat opposition until the fateful e\ents of 1967/68 but be-
was coming yet, both from Mr Sheriff and from his fore these happenings Kareb·Smart had left Sierra
able chief lieutenant. Dr Iddrisu YilJa. another medical leone pohtics for the tlmebeing and returned to
pnctitioner-politician Were the dice not so loaded W H.O.· he was not present when Siab Stevens was
apinst them. these !wI..: "'ould certainly have ",cored ",orne sworn in for the second time in April 1968 and be.
really telling blows aBainst the lovemment. For a num- came tbe finally acknowledged Prime Minister of his
ber or their points sounded, to this observer. hke beinl co~ntry. It sbould be rt:mcmbered that under the old
very ditlicult to answer. Milton Margai regime Dr Karda-Smart had held
1berc was. for imtanc:e. the one about the. whole office as an S.LP.P_ minister. being at one time hiS
......' lEftcy haYin, originally arisen only out of an country's bi.hly personable and articulate F oreilD
iMelDa) crisis witbio t""e A .P.e., and which could and Secretary, •
....... .... been contained therein ; there ... the Though absent (rom the country .iDee «be acc:c.ie.
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Kumasi University was an early customer
for 300 bread pans.
We have also supplied the first Aluminium
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•
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These were designed in our
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road, on water and in the air.
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Tel: 2725/6/1.
19-1-76100
..
•• w
c ,
"7 . f&
... ' s
........ u. • 1'. 0 l' • Ih .... die :,.
01 ... _10:1 __ ... . " .. '
.,.. r 5 r. pat , 01 ... .. comfon for .'1 .... of
• J • .... ca.t ...... lIa r or ..... • 11 ' • Dr.. M '
• • JIbe ."
: tit n: W' I .. IIMrI W Ills? ....... to RnIW'S,""
: s' ....... fllr.t ...... l,tblH,,' = ':IIr.M' '.011'''-
... Ia ... ' 1. poll'" or A WCllb._of.:lij Oc ..... I ....... ThaI
:::::I~" Pd• • Mh,. I ...... os 1 Dr. or ~Fi. 7 "'ad w. L" • cti ' ,.". •_ IV'·. dill Go_80M3 rA:'4 I IIIfOi Aliaa __ .; ... Dr. L; ,
SIr.-" _'i _... ' ,.' " ItIIIs,.... ..
0...... 0 'a of ~.. S 5 ..
.. F e «by hit ON s ,., bit faa. WA. . Set -01 D D. CIaarIn 0 F " n a, ...
p., ••• ....,. ...... ,. .... I fa' _he. aDd. .. ..
s,O ' "•• wm,.. 4 1M "'_01 I '. .. IBI". • I' I,2 ....... .a .+ of. a . = I ............ ... d ' +' b SIs. • ,.. ...... II of .. ' d
.. ... ~c.. .... II • I,Clan of tile .' A • of Kanll S r .... cl _ ....
I 7 Is on. du 1ft of ... lsI'_ .. to wIIit ftil~7 &_ 16.._ ' . .a. 1_ -._' ceo __. 01 I'"I I• .~... .. s
7 2 S I' • ...., '*I _ Dr. ICIftr "'d's re-- P a.W N Mb' 5 t l ILI .. We 4 + ..... t .r
7 .D.....r....."..'."... ..........· Irpw_ Fm • q rr1i'm ·ft". U •• HI 7 f Ii• • ..tier • 1l1li aatlw; die. iii. _ J _in 1. ..1 i I later ...
, 5 , ...... Ql till til d ........... (my hater· 1dIIDJ'. ..... ~ .... for • i111 eN· ' a' ••: I
;kE Mr. .wiae'" phn tile mom- will ....h 'VOIiI' !O ..te _ AI' II:. • • I AI ..
III ." ., u ..... ID. Paub: _ OIl J4dt ~r). deep 21 ald' , ,III cu. b It.
'nil • 1 I. 4' to .. tIaat Dr. XaNf:a.Smart saw
... P"", ... old ",'of ODd puIitkaJ ",,-tc. ...,. Pa'+I ........ " U
• wit r WI urtnl lie 7.... for fbi OOfCmo~
G ."'Po IIld ... P.M. to ....I eb ... Ia_ to- Tbc main political &Ncb' D of S' N' .... II • I
ZE &I eat lib .... .. coaW fiad DO fault in 1bc tilUdouJ. It .... blla 10 ...... L n re '''J,
PI ".,.... . IwoMrr of tile Mr. (alief) Justice apedeOy ........ re,i,- of APr .. t ............
B • T+e-Sie. willi.· .boca ... W be
iD d.. • hi. .., I N _, Mr. Sla......e.n workina Albert who a. bId to bli. ..... b- Mil flow Do-C'mtl to miDioa. ..... ID republicwnl ; .. .. = de ,
P .s. wa.a. thm,. I.i.,'. .. 1Can6.. ...r t. .bout • aeal at,...,. u4 • lief crealed • ,,'"t ad 0 ....1 ' '. iD puti "I 'r. frcm • bje election or 107 revuhiOll .... "WIlt am D' I ........ ftriId .. 5 1ft fIl
the people of Ii .a lew" .. dIiIl·Ia." 1M 1 .,
A. '¥a' 51 • At de. of btl'IT II, nee ...
rished poIfIicd'f' P I 'IIr.i.A.. , ..,. Aaut Mill' .... wew ID .. s'
(P'tt- lie 1.0. 11/3, 4. 5. '- 7. '. 12. • 2&; " ... II
Ab zt tIliI .... Prime Mini.... lik "ill poiated Id3:JV/IO;V/ZI.Z2,fou ••• , 01 ..... PI
.,. that It _ aeilher poIitic:eUy DOf piOCDdunDy in One of tile .i>hly alb'W+divu'" n '" AI' ,1..,:;
WI ,. XCt to a .11 • b,. ell ctida or • .at ia ....- pi.'.fall flom ..... to .. n ....... _.,
H t fOl' Dr. ....rt. 01' ...,.,.,." eIIo. out of .. admiNd but .,.... JC: ... Nti* ,t, .. __ ...
1Il_ 10 to I, k If tile claimeat would wait •
IiIIIo __ be • Joa/"-" "lataut way ID t:rybw to _I eu .. II F ~ f"" .... whet bad so , lIa'I 1 ........ ~
in • few """, for be. die Prime Mi. ...... was MmeIy • di-II".ial ... I ad , ' '* ...
6fntlna of cellini • a .......... o··Mtitulioa .1'u;....:id lawaulDi'V"c. &I'P'
...-... .P..D ina tbat. .. r S .... S.ac,al ,'1Uta ••t the '01"" Owllit:4LA ... • II a: J S • ,.'" ... of 1111 ,te rm was doe in two ,..,. ead • bit Wliat Kia .. ;: 'os. 1MI ••i SU,. eMS 'C ... SE f'eal of reF 111 I "" I S 'I ..
n.a.d. ,.a axmIina 10 1M P.M.... .......' 1. nfreed aD IE • I lied. :..... Dr,. I ...... -;: alm for Dr. Ken&-" Art to M ~:e... e .. .... it _ t C I &..' ... ~
11._ I' d _ble to '0' , ... die &Ii' .-.11 alia. ... ,""'" aiD
Ihe ...... awE ,II 1be P.M ....... JIIOJI'ICul ... 1 , ... .., hi:, .. •
IC. ' S r tIIat .. c:oaId _II _ WI Wi' tl , tnIl WiLl's e, . ... Ia ...
by. s" •• poet .. 51 Id" M,'" .:~... t , (BId
.th.e *Pl. h..l. '.M . ... .I .r,. ill wIIich "1* It)' ........0 _ _ OSF waN .... *..w IlI•II .. P ..... pqIf ..... _ II. ,a 1M ... ,Set' ·hlt Coale at of N
Ct. Me 'l11li •• Dr. Ita",: 3 wt Ilhce on: sIso~
aub..... _ (IIld ... PI' Mdia. ·:), ODd loiii fl· , ......... ....... 1& '" he , I " of ... I ... III , •• S •• 27
November 1970 SUPPLEMENT vu
P~~,,:'~O~l;s~;ierra declaration of a sl~te of emergency. i Leone too, and the SOODe r the more The only problem was that of the ques· The public, Mr. Prime Minister, is bewildered at
ro~: What k.ind of Headship Cor the new Rcpublic? your announcement o f your decision to convene Par-
liament to declare a state of emergency. As far as
It was mostly because Sir Albert Margai was tailor· ..... e ).now, states of emergency are only declared when
pg an Executive Presidency for himself in his rcpu· a country iii threatened by external enemies; or when
comtitution that the trouble broke out, thc th ere is so much unrest within the country that there
to him being furiously Icd by. among is a threat to Jaw and order.
Sarif tasman. And it was because P rime Mi· But we arc on friendly terms with Guinea and Li-
Stevens seemed to h im to bc going thc Nkru~ beria. It is true that on Monday lail, I believe, over
la;iI way that Easmon found himscl[ all of a the telephone a little boy's rather scared voice told
in the same camp with Karefa-Smart, Forna, me he was the head of the mercenary force Albert
~ Bash-Taqis, ct al. For Sari( Easmon had dcc1ar· Maigai had sent to invade this country. I am sure,
~d publ icly that he would join the Devil himself, if Sir, you too could have taken tbis information in your
be, to fight anyone against any attempt to csta- stride.
a constitutional executive presidcncy in S·erra As to internal security, there is some disturbance
under republicanism_ Easmon, a tireless and up in Kana District. There is always something brewing
fearless , as well as fearsome, writer in the press, had in Kana. 11 tbere arc disturbances elsewhere they can
his arrest addressed an OpeD Lettcr on these all be dealt with under the Public Order Act. Cer-
mallcrs to the Prime Minister, whom he believed to tainly, no local unrest ought to be made an excuse
be eager fOi such a headship of state and whom he for putting the bandcuffs of it ,tate of emergency on
the refore going to fight to the finish, as he had a whole nation.
fought Margai and Juxon-Smith before Stevens. Over the last .... eek.end, two Ministers resigned, Sir,
from your Government. These two Ministers. alon&
Easmon's Jettc.r, though intemperate in some rassa·
with othe r speakers, addressed a perfectly lawful and
ges, is important for us here. as it is the only full pcaeefui public meeting in the capital on Sun-
account we have from tbe detainees themselves, who, day, 13th
as I said before, could not have been interviewed by
me. The letter also, as it happens, anticipated, chapter
and verse, the case made out against the detainces in Fooled?
parliament by the P.M. exactly one month later. It
was published in the Doily Mail of 19th September It is beyond belief, Mr. Prime Minister, that two
1970, and reads in bulk as follows . ~ch simple things .. could in themselves have led
you to want to declare a state of emergency for the
"'h~e country .
"Party abOlc Nation"
On your return on tbe 13th instant, you made a
iitatement declaring a state of emergency.. .
It seems to us you have come to set your APe
party above the natioo. Even within the party, Accordmg to this statement, fifty or marc lorries
the men closest to you can be discounted as no carrying a lot of people {rom the Provinces were held
more than opportunists and men of straw. It is up hy Security forces a t milc 47. You alleged tbat
no e~aggeration to say that in the APe for some these people bad been fooled into believing they were
tIme now any seriou~ political thinking or plan- to attend a meeting of the APe in Freetown_ You
left us to doubt what mischief might have taken place
In hlunt terms, Sir, your Government has been
If these, our provincial brothers, bad joined the
ning is down to zero.
meeting at the Queen Elizabeth Playin, Field
a failure.
But then, every Government In Siera Leone be- While It is admitted that Prime Ministers ,ome-
fore you has bcen a failure. We Sierra Leoneans times are subject to Churchill's "terminological in-
can endure that euctiludes", may I point out, dear Prime Minister,
\\fhat we cannot endure is a threat to our Iiber- that the coming of these lorries to Freetown on Sun.
lie! This, Mr Prime Minister you, above all, day had nOlhine whatever to do with you r desire to
should know For you were, like me, in the declare a state of emergency
vanguard of our fight for those liberties under
It is known, Sir , that a couple of days before tbil
Mr Albert Margai's regime
What the country cannot understand is that, ;,ert~n ScJ'\lic:=es. h~.d been alerted by you r Deputy t~
after than three yean of your being in aVOid asSOC12ltlon with the Opposition. and 10 be le~
power, we arc being yet alain manipulated into ready for the declaration of an emergency "within the next forty-eight hours".
a position where we must stand up and fight for
thosc "'cry rights for which, in the recent past Th~ Statement ahout the lorry "convoy" (rom the
those very righls for which, in the recent past, Provlncel cannot bear examination either. Who in.
you younclf loldiercd ruM: W\WQrthit,. formed Security that all lhe people on the fifty-odd
I do not in thl' lener illltnd to d~1I 011 Ilenent.l lomes had been misinformed they were to attend an
matten which we of this country feci you have A~C meeting in Freetown ? Security could not have In
let u, do""" I want to deal specifically with the situa- gamed the information from the people on the 10rrie.>J,
tion that, within the last week, i, bci!11l nuned to si. sm~ the armed soldiers could not possibly have been
mubte a crisi,......a crisis serious enough to "'oJrrant the posted In advance to stop the "ehicles at mile 47 .
And WHY Ibould they have been led to believo
·. .
YlU SlJPPlEMENT 6 Na.anber 1970
they were to attend an APe meetina? The thin, just Marpi did not .ink. to this level.
does Dot make lense.
In retrospect. then, Mr. Prime Mlnister, I hope
Moreover, it bas not emerged in your statement, you chalJc ie up witb pride tbat you are achievina the
Mr. Prime Minister, that the travellers on these impossible of makinl that monster, Albert Maraai,
lorries were in any way a hostile 101. They were not look like an aqel.
armed, as far as is known, with sticks or stones, let I am,
alone guns, or any other weapons with which they Mr. Prime Minister,
were likely to disturb tbe peace of the capital. Your one-time friend,
Permit me to point out too, Sir, that the Govern- R. SARIF EASMON
ment announcement over the SLBS on Sunday the
13th instant that aU public meetings were forbidden
was an unlawful declaration. Your Deputy was in-
formed that public meetings cou1d be banned in this
free country only under a state of emergency or tbe U this document ma.tes l!omewbat plinful rcadiol
Public Order Act. in many parts, we should remember that, and un(nr·
tunately, modem African politics has come to be
] am inIonned the reaction to this was that some cbaracterised by the "no holds barred" rule, and cer·
of your Ministers made some wild talk to tbe effect tainly you can add that in it, also, one man's meat is
that. taw or no Jaw, your Government was gomg to really and truly anotber man's poison Thus the
prevent tbe meeting taking place. Fortunately, the reaction to Sarif asmon's letter and to the other
police sbowed tbe commonsense that our statesmen causes of the Prime Minister's complamls, was ex-
lack, and would r.ot be prevailed upon to break the pectedly ,ummary : Easmon and bis associates sur·
law of the land to please our sawdust Caesan. fered exactly what his leiter bad "predicted". Their
The matter docs not end bere. It is gcnerally un- arrest and dckntion were ordered, and tbe opposin&
derstood, Mr. Prime Minister, that you were in touch press-almost always in Alrica wild and abusive-
with your Deputy by telephone, at least on Saturday was closed down, e\1:n before parliament had given
and Sunday last. the expected assent to the emergency declaration
Easmon had tried so desperately to have withdrawn.
U this is so, the order to exercise power beyond
the pale of the taw-namely, stop tbe meeting of tbe -Editor's Nme: Owing to a technical accident. thi!
Committee or Citizens last Sunday--could not have article could not continue in its present (onnat. It will
been unknown to you . What your onetime friends be concluded in our next issue.
and most ardent supporters cannot understand is that
you did not countennand the order of your subordi·
nates.
However, we are all relieved you have not, The University of Ghana 50 far,
acceded to the wishes of your wild men and ordered and the
the detention of those who called the meeting. I Ghana Publishing Corporation
chaired the meeting. With tbe four p:incipal speakeri have pleasure in announcing the publication
-Mr. Mohammed Bash-Taqi, Mr. Ibrahim Taqi, Dr. of the
Mohammed Forna and Dr. lobn Karefa-Smart-we
are waiting to see if, as was strongly rumoured over 1969 AGGREY-FRASER-GUGGISBERG
the week-end, an order will be signed for our deten- MEMORIAL LECI"URES
tion afler Parliament shall have done you the grave
dis-service of declaring a state of emergency in Sierra delivered by
Leone. PROFESSOR MARK OLIPHANT
For I should make it clear to you, Mr. Prime Mi- under the tit1e:
nister, no reasonable person can see the necessity for SCIENCE AND MANKIND
sucb a declaration in Sierra Leone today. In fact, Professor Mark OJjpbant, one of the most
what people are saying is that you are already exc", eminent Physcists of our time, discu~
asing dictatorial powers in this country-even before some of the many questions which arise
we commit political suicide by allowing you to be- (rom the interaction of science with man
and his economjc and social systems -
come the executive president of our country. r;nan's continuing search for knowledge and
Lastly, Mr Prime Minister, it is rumoured that its application to his needs. and the new
after tbe declaration of a state of emergency it is vistas of progress for mankind. This is a
fascinating book written in language acces·
your intention to clamp down completely on the sible to all.
Press If this is so, pennit me 10 congratulate you in First Published : October 1970
advance on tbe achievemenl A vailable (rom Ghana Publishing Corpora.
tion, Publishing Division, The University
Of course, the NRC did it before your time. But Booksbop, Legon and all leading bookshops.
then, they usurped power at the point of a aun. Even PR,CE: 95NP
at his WORt-and that worst wu vcry odious-Albert
•
LEGON OBSERVER
SUPPLEMENT
LEADERSHIP IN LOCAL GOVERNMENT
by S. N. Woode
(2) of Section I of the Local Gov- to be standing and permanent features of the
Act. J 961 provides that every City internal organisation of local councils. The per-
shall employ a Town Clerk; but as an missive committees could either be standing or •
the case of the Treasurer the Act says very ad hoc. depending on the nature of the work for
little about the duties of the Town Clerk" I. which a particular committee was establi.c;;hed.
"The Local Government Act provides [or the and the time it took to accomplish tht: work in
appointment of a Chairman whose main function hand.
is to preside over Council Me~tings." 1 The law was silent on what departments were
The observations aoove give rise to interesting to be set up within a council. It merely stated
reflections on what has to be done to provide that certain officers. a Town Clerk. a Treasurer,
leadership in maners of control and direction a Town/City Engineer and a Medical Officer of
in the internal organisation of local councils in Health had to be appointed. In the internal
this country. One needs to read the the reports arrangements of things we find that, (and this
on the affairs of the city councils of Accra-Tema. was especially true of the City and Municipal
Kumasi and Sekondi /Takoradi 10 find out that organisations whicb had the money to employ
the absence of strong focal points of leadership these officers), each of these officers headed a
in lIle management of these councils created department, tbe responsibilities of which were
conditions which made the practice of passing consistent with their respective professional quati-
the buck and "irresponsible" administration fications and experiences. Thus a Treasurer (who
significant features of the administrations of had to be an accountant) was the head of the
these councils. Treasury Department: tbe City Engineer headed
the City Engineer's Department; and the Medical
Internal Structures Officer o[ Health ran the show in the Health
The fundamental statutes that have since 1951 Department. These cbief officers were individual-
governed the basic mtemal structure of local ly responsible to the council for discharging the
councils in this country provided that councils responsibilities of the council. Tbus. for example.
be made up of elected councillors who collecti- the Medical Officer of Health was responsible
vely dealt with broad matters of policy and r~r carrying out the health and sanitary func-
controUed the purse strings of the councils. The tions of the council.
councillors of a particular council elected one
of th/ir number to act as chairman of the council Departmental Org• • isalio. ..
for one year. and. as the quotation above indi-
In carrying out his responsibilities no head
~Ies. he presided over the meetings of the
of department came under the direction and con-
council. All councils were required by law to
trol of any individual councillor or officer. That
operate through committees which helped the
is. there was neither an elected executive nor a
councils discharge their responsibilities. Some of
c~ef executive oUker to control. supervise and
these committees - Finance and SlalI, Educa-
give a sense of direction to the activities of the
tion and Development - were statutory; that is.
individual departments. What we found in practice
the law provided that they must be established.
was ~at the departmental organisation of the
Other committees were permissive in the sense
councl.' corresponded with the lay-out of the
that if a council thought them necessary. it
could appoint certain committees to manage ~ommlttc:es; and each department worked and
and regulate some of its responsibilities. In the ~IVed With a corresponding commiHee. For
nature of things. sbtutory committees tended IOstance. the Medical Of!i= of Heallh worked
WIth the Public Health Committee and the City
jj
SUPPLEMENT 18 December
Engineer's Department worked with the Works
and Development Committee. efficient and effective administration. It is
the case that the committee system of local
One hesitates to come up with a chart that emment fails to deliver the goods; it is a
shows the sources and flow of matters that come
tion that some other style of admiJ:ti,lnti.
up to council for direction. We can, for the sake
might yield more human happiness from
of simplicity. isolate the four areas of central rates and taxes we pay to our local councils.
government. councillors. the officers of the COUD-
cil and the public. When matters came up for The English who have been using the com.
decision, it was expected tbat the full counci l millee system of local government since the 19th
would realise its ineffectiveness to handle all century and from whom we copied this style of
classes of business and refer the case to its administration, have realized "that the association
particular specialized committee to study and of each service with a committee and of a de-
report back to the council. These committees. partment and chief officer with both produces
it is argued, have the advantage of smallness a Joose confederation of disparate authorities." 1
and members intci:!sted enough in the work of It is from this situation that flow all the sins of
their respective committees to have the eyes for bad management, passing the buck, self-import_
detail and the presence of professionals to offer ance and self-containment and the difficulties
expert advice. Having SOfted out the issues of achieving co-ordinated administration. Thus
involved in the case in hand, the committee while "all over the city (Accra-Tema) we (saw)
reported back to the council for its final decision. the ugly spectacle of over flowing refuse dumps
The decision was transmitted to the department and latrines", 4 there was indecision as to who
concerned for executive action to be taken under was to take effective action to obtain import
the supervision and direction of a corresponding licences to enable the city government to order
committee. spare parts for the repair of the city's conser-
vancy vehicles. Was it the duty of the Medical
Rcprcsenbtion of Various Groups Officer of Health whose department has the
responsibility of discharging the statutory health
This modus operandi, it is claimed, serves and sanitary functions of the council or the Town
many useful purposes. It is argued that the Clerk whom the Commission of Enquiry into the
full council of members are ill-equipped to affairs at the Accra-Tema City Council chose
handle the mass of detail that most businesses to regard as the "Chief Administrator" to take
throw up; and that a small body of interested the necessary action to get the vehicles on the
representatives will have ·the time and for- road and on the job? And where does the Fleet
bearance to go through any mass of detail and Maintenance Engineer's Department come in in
present the council with the issues in a dear-cut a case of this nature?
fashion. Ia the process of sorting issues out the
committee system of local government allows, Denying Privileges to Comment
it is again argued, interests of a wider variety
of peopJe to be represented; and furthermore We deny ourselves the privilege to comment
provides a considerable number of people the on the conclusions of the Commission on this
chance for administrative and political education. matter. What can be said, though, is that the
FinalIy. it is argued, that this style of local gov- committee system of local government that we
ernment ensures that executive action taken by copied from the English did not aUow the Town
local executives in local areas wiD be subjected Clerk to be recognized and accepted as the execu-
to popular control. tive head of the council's paid officers in the
These are worthwhile advantages to engage sense of having authority over the heads of
the interest of all who feel committed to demo- the department of the council. Nor did it allow
cratic habits; for they indicate the political role the heads of departments to be responsibJe to
of local government in the entire political system the council through the Town Clerk. The SUccess
of the country. But then local government does of the Town Clerk in achieving co-ordinated
not .and canoot exist merely as a school for train- administration might be due to his position as
ing in politics and in the art of governing one- the clerk to the council Id all its committees,
seU. Citizens pay taxes and rates in anticipation which work involves prepar.!lg agenda for meet-
of hygie.nic public latrines. wen-equipped schools ings and reading and interpreting correspondence.
and IQng-lasting feeder roads and generally In this position. if the Town Clerk is sharp, be
acquires total knowledge of the work of the
18 December 1970 SUPPLEMENT iii
YOUR ADVERTISEMENTS
MUST GIVE GOOD RETURNS
THE 'LEGON OBSERVER'
TAKES YOU TO THE PEOPLE
WHO TAKE NOTICE
ADVERTISE IN THE
'LEGON
• OBSERVER'
•
IV 18 December 1970
Now Ghana Aluminium's
Specialty Products Division provides
all the answers.
You thought we only made roofing sheet!
We did, but now we are much more versatile. We are now
equipped to make anything-well,
almost anything-in Ghana's favourite
metal-Aluminium .
•
Aluminium is light but strong,
tough and durable. Our specialty
products are proving so reliable and economical
that industries are turning to us to fabricate more
and more equipment for them-in Aluminium.
Take the fishing industry, for instance:
Ghana Aluminium has already made and
delivered over 3,000 fish-freezing
trays. Only Aluminium
long-sp.an
I"OrruJ.atro can withstand the
Aluminium • •
roofing !iohcct, COrrOSIVe mann
e
cuned on
sp«i;tl machines working conditions
b ....d trolys-H
supplied to
at our Tcma of Ghana's thri 8.&king I~::~
pl .. n •. in the m~ fishing industry.
YOII will also find
Ghana Aluminium producing both welded
and folded bread pans and baking sheets
for the bakery and catering industry.
Kumasi University was an early customer
for 300 bread pans.
We have also supplied the first Aluminium
chimneys to be made in Ghana-to the
.Il1apongTextile Factory at Akosombo.
-, -.
•
18 December 1970 v
~GhU~'S
fishing Indw.try
f l!!iH Aluminium i" fish-rrcuing
The brewing industry is another customer.
We are fabricating 1,500-gallon capacity
....- storage tanks for Tiger Pita.
These were designed in our
own drawing office, as were
the 50-gallon tanks for
Pita retail sa les outlet '~--
100 of which were
also made recently
at our Tema Works.
has opened up the field for welded Aluminium
other uses. such as processing palm-oil. -•
in Ghana as in so many other enlightened
es, Aluminium is taking over from other
Is, in industry as well as in the home, on the
road, on water and in the air.
Where sheet meta! fabrIcation
is concerned, let our expert
designers and craftsmen
solve your problems too. /
We aren't called The
Problem Solvers for nothing'
>\'umlnlUni
Contact: In the Beer Indunrp
;a giant I ~oo-gallon
Specialty Products Division, Pito )Ioragc tolnk d" arr.. . ... ~o-gallon
Ghana Aluminium Products Limited, rct,lil di .. pcn~r
P.O. Box 124, Tema. tan'" .
Tel: 2725/6/7. -
19-&·;6100
VI SUPPLEMENT 18 Ill: ~ailber
o:MIDci1 - which is power. But eyeD. this power oical d..,isioos, in onIerioa priariIiea aod ill
is useless if be does not have the requisite pro- setling lb. IOD. for ""..,..tiv.. to tat. lb. cue.
fessional and managerial skills to get things done. Having said this for lb. Deed for
The absence of a recognized chief executive (i) leadership in our local conncils. what can
to provide effective and efticient administration on who exercises administrative leadership?
(u) to ensure that beads of departments worked Here lb. ""perieoces of olber COUDtries can be
as a team; and (iii) to ensure effective control instructive. And what we find the most engaplI
sy~terns must have b...""«J clear to the C.P.P , admi- proposition is the city-manager style of adminis-
nislration. For, an amendment to the Local tration of some 2,000 odd cities in the United
Government Act of 1961 in 1964 provided that States of America, which is based on the idea
the Accra-Tema City Council be equipped with that municipal government caD be run just like
an Executive Chairman as the official head of business. built on sound finan~g with policy
the council to perform certain functions o( the made by a small group of (00 the average 9)
oounciL The executive chairman of the Accra- elected councillors (directors). The idea of the
Tema City Council was appointed by the Head city-manager was bit upon at the beginning of
of the c.P.P. government . By 1966 almost all this century when honest and hard-workin&
chairmen, strong in the knowledge that they were citizens of certain cities in America got sid: aDd
party stalwarts and encourag~d by the payment tired of corrupt politicians who were running
of regular salaries to them (true of chairmen of their city governments. Feeling the consequences
municipal and city councils), had taken per- of inept financial control and poor administra-
manent seats in council offices and were directing tion, they sought, to replace the politicians with
af,f airs as "executive chairmen". highly trained. t~icated and efficient officials in
the field of ad .s tration.
'Feelings or Political Leadership'
LaymeD ADd Politic. .....
I The movement towards having executive chair-
men· was certainly an interesting development In a few words, in this type of city govemmnet.
which matter (I dare say) still generates fierce there is a small council which determines poli-
emotions when mentioned . One argues one way cies, passes byelaws, adopts the budget amI
or the other depending of course, is on one's party appoints a professionally competent manager to
inclinations. The crux o( the matter was get on with the job for as long as :'1e behaves_
I , uthe feeling at the time was that the counc il The manager appoints and dismisses the beads
needed political leadership," S of departments; he is responsible for what goes
can be a legitimate proposition because in on in all the departments with power to decide
(<X)DlInittee system of local government it is on the size and organisational structure of
• to have a council lacking effective poli- departments, the grading of positions and the
• leadership due to the mode of electing a qualifications of appointees. He advises l1~he
"':'cirnlan (or a year and the role cast for him. council on its financial condition and need~ pre-
NheD. such a situation presents itself, life can pares, submits and administers the budget-of the
be miserable for the servants of the council who council. He combines in himself, dearJy, the
have to put up with constant interference in their functions of our Treasurer and what our Town
work from individual councillors and local poli- Clerk timidly does. His assigned role is simi!ar
ticians. Clearly this is a condition hardly con- to that of a general manager in a bu~iness orga-
ducive to efficient and consistent administration. nisation , holding regular meetings with depart-
We do not deny that in public administration mental beads and giving decisions much more
there is the need for political leadership. We read ily than our committees of ;aymen and
need political direct ion to bring the common politicians.
touch to the slide rule solutions that experts will Thus if we had a recognized and a
offer. In decid ing where to build public latrines ally competent chief executive in our local
and locate !;freets. feeder roads and school,;. Ihe dIs, the respom:ihility of which officer it was
opinion and interests of the public arc just as have taken a positive decision in geltin!.; 'P'''c:I
weighty as, if not more than, the calculations parts to help repair the conservancy fleets
of the technicians. And a properly organised Accra-Tema would not have been in doubt. T
political Jeadership ensures that the elements of chief cxecutive only needed to have had a m
the commonplace are brought to bear on t(:ch· ing with the Medical Officer of Health. lb. FI<
1970 SUPPLEMENT
Engineer and Ihe Treasurer to bave tain essential services".6 The District Council wilt
lbe facts and taken actioo. Sucb a meet- be at once lbe unit for providing local govern-
also have given each of these chief ment services and the unit for administering the
the opportunity to have gained a total decentralized services of the central government.
~r. of the needs of the administration as far This arrangment is quite an innovation in the
sanilary problems of the city was can· public administration of this country, thougb
pod That is. all would have learn. (rom the integrated type of field administration the
Medical Officer of Health the consequences Bill seeks to provide op~rates in France and in
baving enough vehicles to help dispose of some other European countries.
f.se; the Fleet Maintenance Engineer would The responsibilities placed on these District
have apprised his coUeagues on the need for Councils will not only caU for the type of repre-
spare parts always in stock; and the Trea- sentatives who will be fully informed on all ma-
would have put in the necessary words about jor isues facing the council. they will also call
financial condition of the council. for an ordered system of internal management
plan of the city-mar.ager may have its which will help the councils achieve the effccti-
Indeed it may be considered alic"l; and \'(!ness no doubt expected of them by tile
suggestion is not that it should be adopted Progress Party government which migh. want
this country root and branch. The greatest to usc the councils as instruments of deve-
of the plan is that conceived as it was lopment in the country. However, the silence of
the spirit of business enterprise. it rides the Bill on who will oUer leadership in direcling
over the political aspects of local and controlling the affairs of these councils
But do the lessons of the fifteen leaves one to speculate as to whether the old
(1951-66) experiment in democratic local pattern of internal arrangements with its many
particu larly highlighted in the committees and subcommittees and its concomit-
administrations of Accra-Tema, Kumasi tant need for an elaborate machinery of co-ordi-
Sekondi-Takoradi- not lead one to think of nation is going to be a feature of the new
ptlhe. systems of internal organisation which councils.
introduce professional administration and
management in our local councils? Taking Discretionary Powers
What's the Real Answer? There is the memion of the chairman of the
council who like other councillors will be dn
The answer may not necessarily be the city- elected member of the council but owe his posi-
(m,,,,a plan. Perhaps our legislators wiU come tion as chairman to an appointment by the Prime
with a solution that can be said to be Minister . But as in the basic laws of local gov-
original invention in the field of public ernment of the 1950s and 19605 presen t BiJl
administration. But whatever the system may be, on Local Administration is quiet on the ;:>owers
it must ensure that the authority of the whole o f the chaimlan as an executive head of tl~e
a( ..l inistration in a local authority is conceived CounciJ.1 Perhaps the ministerial inst rument
as c -,e and, not as in the past. a number of sepa- which appoints the chaimlan of the Distri< t
rate departments. It must allow that one person Counid will take the discretionary powers of de-
is placed in a firm position to have a total pic- fining clearly what the nature of his function s
ture of the conditions and needs of the adminis- will be.
tration and get the whole machinery moving as However. if there are some people who. be-
an integrated whole. cause of their experiences of the Executive
However. It does not seem that the provisions Chairman of Accra-Tema City Council. object
of the Local Administratioo Bill. 1970. create the to executive control over District Councils of
conditions for the authority of the whole admi- the 19705 being placed in the hands of politicians
nistration of the suggestcd District Councils to be b~ a Head of Government. then the next class
felt The District Councils arc described in the of persons in line for leadership of the Councils
Bill as the fundamental units of local admir.istra- will be the District Administrative Officers . But
tion re ... ponsihlc both for "carrying out the here again we find that the District Adminis tra-
ordinary functions of local authoritics" and for tive Officer is in a weak position 10 offer effec-
the "promotion of developmcnt plans for their tive leadership in administrative matters. The
areas. the supervision and direction in their Local Administration Bill , 1970. sees him as the
areas of the work of decentralized Ministries council's secretary performing functions ass igned
and departments. and the management of cer- to bim by the councils. If we examine the pro-
SUPPLEMENT 18 Do»> ',her
visions of the Bill on regional management, we s....Jc to make the authority relationships of the
find that in that case the relations between the whole administration of Ibe COUDCiJ clear to the
Regional Administrative Offica and the Re- govemment. the officers and the public.. We
gional Oticf Executive on the one band. and again, seck to enable the District Administrative
those between the Regional Administrative Offic.;I Officer and the other sc:oior officers of the
and the officials of the regional administration on council to get on with the job of administration
the other have been clearly defined. The relatior- with the minimum of interference beyond the
between the Regional Chief Executive and the policy-making stage from the counciUors and
Regional Administrative Officer, we arc told, will the chairman of a District Council. Above all,
be similar to that of a Principal Secretuy and his we want to ensure that the district authorities
Minister. That is having advised the Regional operate as similarly a~ possible as major busin~
Olief Executive, the Regional Admimstrative organisations do-a necessary requiremert fnl
Officer is held responsible for getting on with th~ positive and dynamic contribution towards soi-
job of administration in the region. ving the problems of development in this CC\untry.
The provisions of the Bill do Dot say much lhe FOOTNOTES
same things for the District Administrative Offi- 1. ,,,uri,., tutiI FIIWIIl RqorlJ of the C4mmiu>oa of EnqUiry
illto the Aa:n-Tcma Cil)r CouIKil. Accra, 1969 p ... pan '44
cer though the explanation to the Bill indicates 2 . Ibid. p."" . para. 141.
that he. like the Regional Administrative Officer, l , D . N. a-tor, "Loc:al Danoo;n.o;y aod the IIItcnW Orpai •
..l ion of Local Authoritics·· ia P ..h Ue Admllfhutllioft .
will be the head of the staff of the District Auwmn . 1961, Vol 46. p.2l1 . OM:Jcer .. here IUDulUlrisina
Authority. But it is not ciear reading from the the obKtvatiOPf; of the Maud Committee 011 Manaacmall of
Lcx.al Govcm_L
Bill what the relations will be betwec:n the Dis- .. IfIlm", fIItd FI_ Rqoru of the CommiDioa of Eaqulry
trict Administrative Officer and the Chairman ;1)10 the Accn·Tcma City Couacil . Ag;n. , ISti. po' pan . )6.
5. Ibid .• p ...' . pan. 14'.
the nature of whose functions are not yet clear. 6. l.«al Adnurusaatioe Bill , A«n, '910 (No¥. llrd) pt .
The apparent silence of the Bill on the sort of pan . 4 .
1. Contnst lbc potiUon of lM Cha.,.... of tM. District Coun-
relations that woukl exist between the District c:il ...;th that 01 the Chairman 0( tbc Rc&lona' Council ... too
Administrative Officer and the Chairman tempts alto _ his .ppo1n~1 Ia the Prim. . Mlnilla ; but i.
called the RqioDaJ Chid u«:uuYC La orda "to _ph. ... .,
one to suggest a principle that should be foUow. lhe character or ... rtl"';ioa!I.'·
cd in assigning responsibilities between the Ibid.. pii. para. 10.
• . Ibid ., pii. pan.. 9(2).
Olairman and the District Administrative Offi·
cer. Here we suggest that, as is the case with
many major business organisations, arrange·
mcots be deviced in such a way that the District sanatogen
Administrative Officer lives at the apex of a
triangle supporting and balancing the council. MULTIVITAMINS
That is, the appointed chairman should be limit· •
cd to offering the necessary political leadership PluslRON
on broad policy decisions which the District
Council must take in each of its fields of respon- you the power
sibilities and determine the ends to be achieved.
The District Administrative Officer, as a gene.
raJ manager, should be left free to organise the to life
means to achieve the ends established by the
council.
Tbe Spirit 01 the Bills
This mode of operation, we contend. does llot
conflict with the spirit of the Bill which empha·
sises more of the "adtrunistration" than the
"government" of localities. And if we are right
in assuming that the end the Bill seeks to
achieve is effective and efficient administration
,of ctntral and local government services in local
:areas, then a professionally competent admillis·
lrator must be allowed to offer leadership in sanatogen
matters of management. By limiting the O1air- MULTIVITAMINS Plus IRON
man to political leadership and the professiona1 ~'cn ~ M.uoR&OOI,,~(GHANAlLJD
administrator to administrative leadership we
i8 Dc<:ember 1970 THE LEGON OBSERVER
polise the loyalty o[ their people. Thus all Some objective facts which gh
members of the leadership elite become number of the above partly subject
)4'edded 10 the ideal 0/ undivided loyalty to a of the radical African leaders are
smglt cUllse: (a) the ne .., ,' regimes are without adequ
of skilled manpower for the operatio]
fb) but a section of the revolutionary elite gel
dern sta te machinery: (b) they are Iik
fill:atcd in a second auitude of mind . that of
out a ITlanagerial class trained in the opcrath
being ami-govemmem by dnelopmellf, i.c.,
:md techniques of large-sca le industry or ml
through the experience of having fought to
cantile business and (c) they have no capital
chan-ec "the fundamental character of a. Cor development and no credit except on a basi~ ccumr) rather than accepting wcll-establish-
almost of charit y. Martin Kilson (in " The Po-
cd rules of political iife and working within
lit ics of African Socialism". African Forum, Vol.
them" . What becomes the nat ionalist take- l. No.3, W inter 1965) has written pointedly
over government is thus loyalty..orientllted,
about " thi s lack of preparedness", this poor
so 10 speak, while an oppositional segment
represen tation among the new African clites. of
breaks away and sets itself up in a new, all~;
"many important modernizing attributes"; this
goveml1lenr, stance;
lack of training and experience "in running large-
(c) the conflict thus engendered between two scale industrial. commercial, and financial insti-
emerging forces is inevitable, but to the tu tions" and " in such technological and scientific
successor-government group it all seems ille- fie lds as agronomy. engineering, and ;netaaurg>
gitimate and treacherous on the part of the all of which are required {or modem economic
oppositional elements. (Apter puts thi s posi- deve lopment" (Op. cil., p,l7)
tion almost the other way: that in the new
nations it is the opposition leaders--or many Various Fonns of Ideologies
of them-that " regard the new government •
much as they did their colonial predecessors. IThus psychological pressures as well as mate-
i.e .. as basically illegitimate" (op.cit., p.56), rial realiti es underlie the case against political
a generalisation completely unacceptable to opposit ion (in the form of ano ther o rganised
me); rarty). as made out by the one-pany statists
(d) the new leaders are faced at independence The reasons which lead the Nkrumahs
with the whole range of political. socia l, and Sekou Toures. Nyereres. H 0 U P h 0 U C I
economic problems known to human societies, Boignys, et aI., to the exclusivist positions they
and to them the need to tackle these is imme- take on this matter cannot. therefore, be frivo-
diate, not futuristic; lous ones. Not only that. The Nl..rumahs, Sekou
Toures alld Nyereres have their foundations ~n, \
(e):'rrom those leaders of the freedom-fight who or are moored to, Marxist-Leninist ideologi es
#: { press most to the bitter end, politics have and dialectic. o r at least to va rious forms and /or become the permanent occupation and the degrees of socialism-purc. adulterated. bastar- '
breadwinner Pre-occupation with a role in diM:d: classical. Africaa'!, confused etcctera The-
opposition appears to them like intolerable HO!lphouet-Boigll)'s and Bundas, on the other
flirta tion ...... th non-realities in politica l and hand. are in the one-party game for less intel-
economic life, a luxury sUit!ct only to "weal- lectual-revolutionary ideology and more home-
thy countries where political life is less stem spun. pragmatic reasons. But all the different
and the future more secure". (Op. cit .. p.57); schools of one-party thought and action do have
........ their reasons, and, to repeat, these cannot be fri-
(0 in addition to all ~, the urge is overpower- volous ones.
ing to "calch up" with the ad"'anced nations; But they may be false. o r misapprehended . or
to demonstrate ability long submerged under even weak. Take a si mple onc namely, the claim
the dommant ({ormer) colonial regime; to that traditional African society had its answer
to the reality of confl ict in the r~solution of a
aim for quick results as a means of "proof'
problem within the council of elders, with the
-all of \\hieh aims and urges arc incompa- chief summing up and formulatine. the consensus,
tible with democratic competition, debate, this being then accepted as the g;neral will, until
chOIce, and the rest of the llme-\\asting ges_ superceded b) the decisions .. risin2 out of ano.
ther and later deliberation on the same c1as~
tures of democratic procedure.
of problems. A University of Ghana lecturer iI'!
.....m ' ipa _1IId
a " a aDd "'lIicl 7 .., dod "Tbe
_y be ill tbe "'0; II
mo. or out at. Ibis
"" IIaw to wait aad hope. But in ill
_a1 1_ "t ca"inIy 10 .. raIiIy.
.. Sotlots
11IiI is pr.,ipe11y because develope '1. ill ODe .tch thruy is the
bur_ 1OCid) imoIvel two pual!e! JCl radically I'Ptb dlat ..... of rn MaS
ell e:rmt p\lC ~. wbicb. effect "pernmeat" ClpitaL -i_bID di_1e.
dccisiO'ely. Fona, Mu increasa his ruunber by manageaiaJ abiJity has ..... the a'?ll of
cdd/JiOt!. but. his ..0 001 with other nation ill Africa. But wIItL .- ....
DIm by _ltipliuJtioft; or. put into s1igbdy diffe- Africa has cbw with the "_CIS ill
ftIII ks 116: people iDcrease in number by arith- it has the II lICIt ......i c .....
metical ..o p Ilion. but their r+tiona with ODe outcome of ill", Ati:Iit
ODOther multiply by pomeb it ..o p "ion. A countriel. it is 10 NX ,« ...
siopo iDdiYiduaJ becomes 2. thea 3. 4. S. etc. • or lion. It would be difticull to IIad MY _...,
10. 20. 23. 36. 40. etc.; but .he relations between in the world which has atwined a bip
or '''''''IS individuals. developinl upon the needs. of econoonic developmenl it pt81 - j
.....I S. ' ....i n. . (of love, bate. rivalry. jeolousy. at the earliest ..... of its ec .....i c
...... admiration, etc.). as woO as the goods and ment all the iapmients CQR'id ed
aavias. de.. of each individual in relation to for econonJjc brC!ll<tI>toup in
eva y other individual-these increase in series tel th.. us that tbe develops 1\_
lib 2,4. 16. 32, 1024. etc. (or 3. 9; 27. 629. etc.). aad !has il --.I from very "'2£!1~1. .... ...
i.e.. wbere the interests. drives, ambitions. ri- Dings. It was the ruult of the
vaIrieI. aad confticts in society proliferate end· about Mture aad society which
l<ssIy. Mooeovcr. the higher the rate of material to utilize their relources to the ex? • ", tile
.. _. the hi""" the rate of iner.lle in the existing bowled.,. at the Zime
number of "r+tionships" amonl people. wait ~g(
• •• '. I
• • • •
But let that paW I _z1j 2lJ a lib III ....
devil"s advocate ad .". . m ,. I ., .....
about the "". party by _ .....
!at. . of my own, by eo 11l2Os ..
tilt position are ... aftihHe For .. wide op • % jp.
IMtCI\ if Ibis is the nalUre or palllNa of ..t loa- (a) The pen"'
!'. .. tbeon!Y way to uCidC • cclibollable sa ,.to ......
...t jce en .... the dj-ideats would to be
10 Ii. . 10 too. t.be rip, to ora _'II e '
db ''I. It lido .... db", re~ E• ..ae.
..... aad III llentlile _ -
~~:::2:~~~)ll:~ C H R 1ST MAS 1970
se ver
No. U 18-31 December 1970 Price IS"p 01. "
EDITORIAL
I THIS ISSUE
1 HE DIALOGUE ON DIALOGUE
IDEOLOGY IN his statement (l J tb of December) to tbe National Assem-
bl)' on tbe possibilities of dialogue as one way of cnding
apartheid. the Prime Minister is reported to have said :
~NEMPLOYMENT
I must emphasize again tbat the sort of dialogue we
advoca te IS one dirccted to" ards secunng the total
,LOCAL GOVT. abolition o( the theories and practices of apartheid
~ITOR1AL , Therc can be no question of a dialogue calculated (0
maintain the status quo In Southern Africa or to tbe
runes • acceptance of apartheid In any shape or fann.
/oc; PlIrty SUtc:!i And 1M Role
tbe Op~ttOIJ '0 C<ml.Cmporary Afr>ca
EK A n, JonQ-Qu,;HIC)' That , really. is the crlU o( all tbe talk about dialogue r IJOC oaJ ConflIct ,n Oh.na with South Africa on tbe question of apartheid. t>oliticians F S H ;an.'cn
ia power are not regarded as academics who. ideally. delight
E ECO'O'\1V
ir.:.. Un<:n.pIO)01Cnl Problem
in floating abtrusc ideas about this and that which may be
J L SAt-bey &. Io..cn Brew J of no immediate practical concern to their fellow men .
Politicians deal with possibilities and the test of th~ soundness
ERVER l"iOTEBOOh. of any policy is its cbances of succe!.s and the possi':>le reper·
~ r L&hl "PilI" Ch Ina " cussions of that success. The debate on dialogue with South
n Africa. healthily engendered by the Prlmc Minis:er':; over-
~ Eft"" of the Sur~ harl~ seas remarks. should be concemed "ilh whether (' r not it is
,nKunn., ..J . likely to succeed in eliminatmg apartheid
jbe Lost Opporllln,ty of tIM. Hut, ,f,,1 In.:.dcnt
~ Need HI. Pre COlln~ An) sem.ible estimate of the char.ces of dialo:.ue In
ill ~ the "olta Rel'C'" secunng the end of apartheid mu .. t be based nn a good
knowledge of the philo~phical and socio·ecooomic fo unda-
of " tions of that doctrine: on a knowled!-!c of the historv of the 1,.1a11Oft ,\1'1<1,1.00 -
-E. M O\.;llcrc Black. Coloured and 'Iiberal' White resIStance movement
leiter from I~ C,\I1CO' or .... ,l/It<\.."ullt"fm
\0 Hon ....... d ... o "'"ol-:.p •• , which. as the Prime Mtnistcr himself pointed nul. has
0 ... A£.\ 1.(\\ ~mbraced attcmpts at 'dialogue'. in \"ari::>us form~. with the
'c Llul \\.,,,\I("C'
Rc'", c.J to, Gct;lld South Afric3:l authorities: and on a kno\\lcdge of the content
of the rdatlcns of the South Arrican government with the
n the north of '\0 L Of] G<
" ... 0.".1\, >"IJ Black Afa..;an coun tries which have started doing business
v. ith it It is diflicult to see how one can talk meaningfull y
l'PPtD·1E"\T: abou t dialo£uc as a viable policy \\it hout these klOds of
~AD[RSHIP LOCAL GOVFR""· knowledg.: For this reason, and as a contribution toward!; P'Ii
\lENT the debate. th.: Obscncr plans a ~ Ur\ ~\ for o ur next issue
S r.. WOODE. on the qU"~tlons posed above.
2~_ _____________________~ T~H~E~L:E~GO~~N~O~B~SE~R~VE~!R ____________~ 1~8~Da~~"~"~I~~l~~
in the National Assembly, need c1arificaf:on. The established in Pretoria as a matter of ClJurse if
first relates 10 whether or not the slal~ll1cnt was and once the South Africa authorities ac(.'Cpt the
the sum of the P.M·s individual reflections on tbe policy of dialogue - to talk about non~violeot
maHcr or it was the cabinet's collective view. The ways of ending apartbeid.
Prime Minister is reported to have told the Na- Qucstions of this sort must suggest others about
tional Assembly that he wished to trtkc the just what the dialogue both with the Sout! Afri~
opportunity 'to share nl} th Jught~ on the apar- can authorities and the moderate forces is to be
theid issue and my reason for suggesting (hilt nc" about. Will the South African authoriti~ now
approaches including dialogue in addition to what- concede that apartheid is no more 3n IOtema!
ever weapons that have so far been employed affair and, therefore. open to international discu·
against apartheid should be explored'. B.it then. s~ion?
later in the statement, he also said:
It is difficult. indeed. to see how the dialogue
My government is of the view that ;mother trick is going to ~ pulled off unless the South
weapon which could hi! cffc:ctively used is African authorities fulfil the major condition the
that o( dialogue either with the South African Prime Minister laid down for its success. Tbis is
government itself, or with moderafe forces. that they acce?t the African advocates of d!3.logue
black and white. within South Africa as thcir C(juals. But tbis would mean the aban.
Did the Prime Minister mean that the 'thoughts' conment of the basis of ap3.rtheid and would
behind, and the 'reascos' adduced for. the; policy herald the authorities' willingness (0 pull down
of dialogue were his own. but that the whole the whole structure of institutionalized ap:lTtheid,
cabinet had b~en persuaded to accept them? And In that case our intervention wculd cease to be
3rC we, then. to e'(pect no more contra~ictory c~lIcd for: therc are certainly enough talkers iD
statements frolll members of the government en the South African prisons to do all the talking
the matter . that would then ~comc nccessa ry . fhe crucial
point is whether or not there has so far been any
Secondly. the Prime Minister mentiond that
sign. apart from the willingn(;ss of the South Afri~
the government would seek 'dialop:uc eitiler with
can authorities to put somc Afric3n counrrics on
tbe South African government itself. or with
the dole. that they arc prepared to abandon the
moderate forces. black 3.'..,d white, within South
basis and the institutions of apartheid, There has
Africa'. Is one to understand that there \\ould be
!-.urely been none.
no diak)guc with what may be called the 'n:ilitant'
forces in South Africa? But this would b¢ neces· Hence even though one may understar.d the
sary if for no other purpose than to pel'suade Primc Minister's weighty rcasons fo r despairing
them to abandon what the P.M. considc.s to be of the armed tight against South Africa, Olle finds
the futile, yet cruel, policy of scClding a few people it difficult to accept thc dialogue ~olicy a.i a se·
2cross the border to ~Iaughter. rious alternative:. And as others have poim;:d out,
ldk abJul dialogue splits the African ranks and
Thirdly, where is the dialogue with the comforts tbe common enemy. One wish:s that the
'moderate forces' to be held? It is common know. matter had been mooted and discussed first behiDd
ledge that even those 'moderately' .)pposcd to the closed doors of an O.A.U. meeting.
apartheid- and 'moderate' apparently r.;:fc rs to For Ghana. the dialogue debate has heen a
the method of opposition to, and not to the u~-eful exercise. If only the attention given to it
degree of hatred for. apartheid-arc normally v.ould be brought to bear on domestic i~sues. we
prevented from leaving the country a<;ld that cv~n rtally should b..: getting somc where . It dOt:s seem
tea parties th3.t seem likely to discuss apartheid that the period of government by orades i~ :>ver.
from its victims point of view are bannecl.
It may well bt: that the Prime Minister er,\'isages
wme sort of agreement with the South African
authorities which will secure permis~ion for Are You
representatives of the 'moderate forces' tc fly in
and out of the country to engage in dial(),~ues
Ix:rhaps partiCipate in conferences - with other On Our
opJXInents of iJparlheid on the \!oays and means
of peacefully ending apartheid. Or ml~h~ .those
representativc,> of the 'moderate forces Will ~ Subscription List?
allowed to pay frequen~ visits to t~e cm?assles
of the African countDeS - which Will be
•
1970 THE LEGON OBSERVER
•I n
tONDON ,
_.1I0I'U
•
IUItUT
CAlC... T,t,MAll
eAIHUISI
'KnOWN
IO.IUSlULO .. lAGOS
AI'OJAN '''1(0• • 01 I""rf" •
A flight in a VC 10 of Ghaoa Airways is a
particularly relaxing experience, The sbeer
comfort of the world's best liked jPt I~r
makes a promising start. Add to this the
smoothness and silence of the Rolls Royce
jets. And the warmth and friendliness o[ our
hostesses, who make every passenger feel
like a V.I.P. It's a recipe that adds up (0
the smoothest 61 bours you ever spent.
* ' Airways
we're up in the air about you
h CIV ttl/o III I( LI, B.D .. t.e.
,
,
• •
4 THE LEGON OBSERVER 18 DtCcuJau
Politics - blc with its ttaditions-its own WI II of mocracy-and unrelated 10 its realities;
(b) party political opposition is thus a
ONE-PARTY STATES AND THE ROLE OF
OPPOSITION CONTEMPORARY luxury Africa cannot afford. because I~
AFRICA (c) it is politically and economically wastefuL
By and is less e:tpensively provided for in the
K. A B. Jones-Quarte)' traditional process of harmonisation of inte.-
rests within the "Council of Elders". or. in
FOR the last twelve months or more, announce- the modern sense. within the single party
ment after announcement from the "Third through "democratic centralism";
World" has told the rest of the world the same
thing; an independent African stale is holding (d) opposition. worse than merely being wasteful.
elections-for president, for members of parlia- creates factionalism and separatism. where
ment, for municipal councillors. for this office the urgency for political harmonisation and
and that position; there is anI) one candidate economic reorganisation-where. that is to
for the presidency. only onc Jist of candidates. say. the consolidation of the gains of the re-
volution - demands. instead. unity of pur.
ill short Dilly one party in tire field. Thus President
Senghor is re-.elccted to his umpteenth term in pose and of aim from aU section of the polio
ty;
office; and President Banda. ·and Obote-Kenyat-
ta-Houphouet-Nycrcre-.M obutu ... And of (e) factionalism and separatism cannot even be
course their . parties are returned , to continue cxpected to, and certainly do Dot necessarily,
ten, fifteen, twenty years in office. without oppo- stop there. bUI ohen proceed to violence,
sition. internecine warfare. and defeat for the revo-
lution; to balkanisalion. neo..colonialism and
'Rc-electing' One party Presidents the re-enthronement of western capitalist ex-
ploitation. with its resultant bourgeoizifica.
This phenomenon is characteristic of, but not lion of an illegitimate. apeish African elite,
exclusive to the third-world countries of Africa Though much of this argument can be and has
]n Asia. the Near East, the Arab world (con- been disproved. or at least challenged with vary-
sidered as a cultural unit) and in South America. ing degrees of success, the case of the revolu·
the underdeveloped Slates and the newly esta- tionary left in contemporary African politics-
blished independencies are persistently and every- even as expressed in the extreme terms of sub-
where "re-electing" one-party presidents, govern- paragraph (e) above-is sull nor to be dismissed
ments, municipal councils. and the rest of the out of hand with some disdainful "democratic"
monolithic paraphernalia.' What does this pheno- gesture. There is a valid rationale for the politi-
menon mean and emphasize? To try 10 answer cal attitudes that occasion these postulates.
that question and re-examine one of the foremost though perhaps there is no theoreti~1 or even
J phenomena of our time is the purpose of this factual justification for all of them~n any case
paper. It was first presented to a Department of we have the living reality with us of the persis-
History seminar at Legon in 1966. In the four tence of one-party stales in Africa and elsewhere.
years and more since then, the situation which making nonsense of indignant and self-righteous
" . the paper tried to analyse on that occasion has claims. We might as well compose
changed not at all, except, significantly, in Gha- ourselves, therefore, to further serious exami-
. Threfore. onTy slight modifications have been nation of the phenomenon and its ideological
in the analysis that now follows. foundations.
The rcvolutionar} leaders of contemporary David Apter's analysis (in "The Role of Poli-
Africa have. in the overwhelming majority. • tical Opposition". in Africa-The Dynamics 01
chosen one-party government as the only politi- Change. 1963,Passin and Jones-Quartey, editors).
cal way oul of the initial handicaps of indepen- modified. is ¢rtinent:
dent status. And the} have rationalised their po-
(a) r,tost new nations ~ttain ind\!pendenc.:
!'ition by the following postulates, inter alia:
o~Jy after a prolonged period of struggle
(a) Party political opposition. Westminster style, against the colonial rulers. During this strug-
is unnecessary in emergent Africa. incompati- gle the nationalist leaders naturally mono-
•
IS Dcccmb~ r 1970 THE LEGaN OBSERVER 7
GHANA INDUSTRIAL HOLDING GHANA INDUSTRlAL HOLDING" -
CORPORATION CORPORATION
VACAACY FOR VACANCY FOR
Deputy Public Relations
Managing Director Officer
Ghana Industrial Iialding CIJ;;;~;·ation
Applications are invited from ~uitab l y
invites applic~tions far the abov~ aflpo!!':!!-
ment qualified Gh<!naians [or the post of Pu blic
Re latioos Manager for the Corporation
O:J tics: Qualifications and Experience:
A&!i:~t. help, relieve and deputise fOI the (a) Candidates should preferably possess a
Managing Director i~ his task of supervising der,ree or diploma f rom a recogn ised
a<:1d directing the Corporation's operations University. and mu<.,t have had at least
to enable him to cc 'l:cntrate on lon2 ran[!e three yerors experience in t he field of
planning and I" .10:- policy development!. Journa~jsm: 0:-
Based at HcO,d omcc in Accra. (b) A gC:lU General Educatioo up to West
African School Certificate Standard or
QU21::c::tions: the General Certificate of Education. or
The prime Cjualities sought are busincs:\ DijJloma in Journa lism from a recognis-
acumen and e:.I"J::rience at scnlo;· exec ..n ive ed Institute wit h ten years expcli~nce in
level in Jarga scale industry or commerce the field of Journalism and ability 10
A quick mind and speed 0: wcr" under writing articles. features etc. 1 he can-
pressurc bae!(cd by a univer~ity deg!'ee or didat~ must also not only have a good
similar qualification in en~i.,eerinr would knowledge of press relations work but
b::: ideal. hut c(~l!ivak:nt University. profes- must have good contacts with othcr
sional or technical qualification III other pcrson~ engaged in t his fie ld.
relev:lnt bu\iness disciplinc combined with
knowlcdt!c of general management would be Duties:
acceptable.
The Public Relations Manager wi ll
work tr.1der the Corporation S~cretary
Sa.I:::r): to handle the Corporation's publica-
This is a lOP executive appointment and tions. publicity campaigns and develop
a suitably attractive salary \ ... ith gcnerau", good relations between the Corpora tion,
hou ... inf!. car and othcr fringe benefits \. .. ill its CU')lOmers, suppliers, Governmenta l
be orrer. .x J to the right candidate Agencies 2nd the general public He wi ll
also be required to intcrprcte the
Enqu iries: policies of the Corporation and educa te
the public of the Corporation'~ role.
Phone to the Managing Director Or the programmes and activities by utili ... inf!
Corporation Secretary on Tel. No. 64990. the available media such as Television~
6.f9Q~ ~r 6-lQq9 if further informatioa i') rc Radio and the Press.
quirctl .
Salary:
App:ic:lIions:
Not les~ than Nc3.000.00. To be nego-
Appli(ation rorm~ are obtainable from tiated. -
the Corporation Secretary which should be Applications giving details oi qt:alifica-
completed an~ sent v. ith covertng: letter of tiens and experience and the names of
application v.ith names of three referees to thre~ rderees should be addrcs~ed to
the Corporali:lO Secretary, Ghana lnllu ... trial the Corporation Secretary, Ghana In-
Holdin~ CNpor.ltion. Post Oniec Bo:\ 27S·l, du\trial Holding Corporation, Post
Accra. 10 reach him by 3ht Dccc;nber 1970 Offiee Box 2784. Accra. to reach him
her. 1970. nOt later than 31st Occembc:-. 1970.
8 THE LEGON OBSERVER 18 December I
deny that possibilit) of validity or potency; has accordingly to determine its position not
(b) the failure of federalism and multipartyism in in relation to strictly internal social and o<onon
Nigeria, say, and. on the other hand, the problems. but also to the pre\ailing economic
"success" so far of one-partyism in the Ivory political issues beyond its borders.
Coast-these two differential cases would of ideology. therefore. far from being
lend to suggest that at least all the answers scholastic issu:s. invoh·e th.:- most explicit formu_
arc not yet in. lation of the me:llal plus Ihe intellectll:)l climate
of the enquiring mind in search for solutions to
From this I would like to proceed to my major specific political. economic and social Droblcms.
proposition. namely that there is still a case to be
At the beginning of the Industrial Revolution.
made out for my suspicion thar "Africa" has nOl
Malthus. for instance. attributed the povlO!i"ty and
),et discovered its mos! suitable political alld
misery of the rising industrial proletariat to an
economic system or s)'stems. and that the present
absence of "sexual discipline" and Ricardo. ac-
condition of flux and upset is not one in which
cepti~g the basic premises of \1althus. formulated
to defl'rmille that it should be this or that system the notorious "fron Law of Wages". which held
and not another. A fe-study of the social history
the proletariat entirely respon..,ible for their po-
of nations. the continuing fe-study of revolu-
verty and misery. F-or, so it was argued, more
tions and of the ideas of our contemporary re- wages for workers would merely encourage the
volutionaries - not omitLing Franz Fanon and
productioo of 1110re children "'hich, in turn, wouM
Julius Nyerere - is clearly a duty upon
«.- ,;..""i result in a fall in the "real" value of their wages. us. ~ IN" ",-<-. _ \'..
\ , \/J.'f,)(..- Faced with a situation involving grinding po-
verty and increasing misery for the workers, the
methodological approach of Malthus and Ricardo
IDEOLOGICAL CONFLICT IN GHANA ignored the fact that there was something inhe-
rently pemicious with Laissez·faire capitalism
By Instead. it accused the oppressed human clement
J. F. S Hansen -(the workers), caught up. as it were. in th(;
merciless vortex of capitali~t exploitation - of
TH[ struggle for a socially emancipated Ghana has
lacking "moral self-control" Thus the classical
yet to b~gin and when it does, it cannot overlook
economists failed to underMand that social in-
the hypocrisy of camouflaged vcsted inler\!Sts
equalities. including misery of the workers, was
in existing social inequalities and the natural right
being more a"d more accentuated by the i!1hcrent
of the individu:::t.1 Ghanaian for social justice. Jt is
re contradictions of the capitalist system. a sy!'tcm of bound to a struggle between a neo-elitist.
organised exploitation which equated man with
pseudo-patrician democracy which the typical
machine.
Ghanaian phrase-monger euphemistically calls (he
"Welfare State" and a democracy of the ccmmon- The WeJ[are of Workers
man. a democracy of the dispossessed. the politi-
cally disinherited and the exploited. Socialist thought is therefore indebted to the
For the Peoples' Popular Party (PPP) the con· perspicacity of Karl Marx not only for de-hunking
cept of social justice presupposes the o.lctual exis- the idcobgical assumptions of the classical eco-
tence of c :: mtinuing social inequalities and injus. nomists. but also for reversing their methodologi-
tices in our society. Social justice, however, may cal postulates. In so doing Marx squarely auri-
mean different things to different people. For buted the mic;ery and poverty of the industrial
e"ample. a conservative interpretation o( social proletariat to the internal contradictions of capital-
justice must necessarily differ from that of the ism", hich. \\,:as. and still is. corccmed morlO! with
socialist: for while the former is primarily inte- the volume of profit and lc~ \\ ilh the welf:tre of
rested in preserving the status quo of maSler- the Workers. It is clear. then. that the mcthoJolo-
servant relationship the latter believes that society gieal approach of the classical economJsts to the
must be purposefully transformed i:1 order to crucial question of social inequalitics was ideo-
make the concept of the equality of man more logically different from that of Karl Marx who
meaningful. argued that the whole comple\. of social inequali-
In political affairs the nolion of ideology IS ties as a o;ocial evil cannot be eliminated from
indispensable to the formulation of party politi- society unless and until the means of prodUCtion.
cal programmes. For it answers the all.important distribution. marketing and c\.chan~c are in the
questicn: what type of society? A political party full democratic control of a consciously organi-
8 December 1970 THE LEGON OBSERVER 9
•
,,(:)0·
I'm worried
because I shall
retire in a few years
and I haven't any
savings on which •
•
to rely."
-
"I'm not
•
worried"
The money from my
Endowment AssUrance
with the Guardian Royal
Exchange Assurance
Group will look
after me."
Can You look Forward to a happy re-
tirement wIth freedom from worry ab-
out mone),? If not you should contact
our Mr. Qua),son, in Accra (Tel. 64991)
or Mr. ;\lilne, in Kumasi (Tel. 2325)
or lIIr. SIms in Takoradi (Tel. 2035)
.
or WHte to
Guardian Royal Exchange Assurance Group
COMPRISINC
GUARDIAN ASSURANCE COMPANY LIMITED
ROYAL EXCHANGE ASSURANCE
GHANA HOUSE, POST OFFICE SQUARE, ACCRA liE
10
THE LEGON OBSERVER
sed proletariat. Hence his famous clarion--caU:
leaders since the opposition, by its own
"Workers of the world unite. You have notbing
is being presented to the public as
to lose but your chains. You have a world to
win." For all socialists this means 3 world of emasculated and thererore all talk about o~:
~CIU~.I tion to the PP amounts to nothing but t not hypothetical social justice. a world in political chicanery,
,-,hid'! a conscious redistribution of the national
wcallil not only bridges the glaring gap between Dr. Asamoah further says that "indigenous
the rich .:md the poor. but also eliminates what exploitation has not yet taken the rorm that ll!nda
the American economist. Veblen, has described itself to Marxist analysis". But .... hat does Dr.
as .. conspicuous consumption " Asamoah mean by "indigenous exploitation'"?
For all soc iaji ~ IS. the socialisation o f the wor- Does he mean the "exploitation'" of "indigenous"
kers-i.e. arousilrlg their consciousness as a class people? H, so. by whom? Or, does he mean by
of exploited r-~"r;:: for the purpose of organising "indigenous exploitation", the exploitation of
them into a political force opposed to the exploi- "indigenous" natural resources? If so. by whom"
tative voraciou :,:'"'; of the capitalis t sys te m and It is painfully clear that Dr. Asamoah's ch.:Jicc
its ethical prcsu r.1~lions-is the only means of of words has not been a happy one. Dr Asamoah
achieving social J. .t ice. is, however. entitled to his Own opiniro even
ft is, therefore. clear that the struggle bct' '' een thou-!!:h his own analv- sis is unwiuin!!..:. l.v a vindica_
"Capitalism" and "Socialism" for soc ial justice tion o f the Marxist analysis.
in Ghana is bound to cont inue ro be a topical. Ho w many more iniquities should "Internatioual
live and dominating issue precisely because for Capitali"m" perpetrate in Ghani! in order to be.
all socialists the ideo logy of "capitalism" and come susceptible to Marxis t analysis? Any dis.
the ide~, I."?:/ cf "socialism" arc mutually exclus ive. pa);sionate student of the history of cont:mporary
FUrihermo re, s ince the validity of the theoretical social development in Ghana caooOI faiJ to observe
basis of a party's socialist programme must. in that there is in Ghana a process of incipient social
the final analysis. determine its political a ctivity, strat ification, however inchoate. The overriding
there is nothi:lg pejorative in a party being com. concern of socialist polilical activity, therefore, is
mitted to a theory of socialism it propeses to to arrest this process in order to prevent it from
implement, at the appropriate time, with the fuli fossilis ing.
backing of popular mandate.
Large Measure of Agreement Opposing 'International C~pitaJism'
In an article, in the (l.0. V/23), Dr. A~amoah According to Dr. Asamoah, uthe Blain cause
confesses that the "Manifestoes issued by the- of exploitatiO'1 in developing countries, including
Parties (ie. PP. NAL. UNP. APRP) are "quite Ghana. is "International Capitalism". Ever} 'iocial-
similar", and goes on to admit that this was "not is t is bound to agree with this diagnosis of the
an accident" " because for a number of reasons malaise plaguing Ghana, and indeed all develop-
[not stated] there is a large measure of agreement ing co untries. But it should be strongly emphasised
about the evtd ~ of contemporary Ghanaian society that it is precisely for this reason. and in order
and the means by which they can be achieved." to rid Ghana 01 all form s of capitalist exploitation.
that the P.P.P .. as a socialist party. is unalterably
Although 01 . A samoah hardly bothers to ex.
and implacably opposed to all manifestations of
plain what he means by the phrase Uquit~ s imilar"
capitalism including "International Capitalism".
and a " large measure of agr:!Cment , . : ', a dis.
tinction must be drawn between the strictly It is common knowledge that the P P.P. was
technical limits of Ghanaian society within a banncd to elimw13te dangerous rivalry in the J 969
GharJa considered a s a geographical fact . and the General Elections on the specious ground that it
ethical goals of political activity in Ghana. If, was Nkrumah's party, a sub-conscious political
therefore. by "ends". Dr. Asamoah mealls the Oedipus.Complex which is still haunting th ... minds
"ethical goals" of genuine political activity in of the guilty. That the P P.P. is not dead today
cO!ltcmJ: ::>rarv Gh<.> na i<';n society. then he has a is a result of a relentlcss struggle to affirm the
dUly to explai1l what the~ goals are It would cOil!i titutic'.l':!.1 right of any political p:.! r~y ! ;) C";; ::.t
therefore appear on thc face o f it that the !ireless in Ghana. Furthernlore. the commitment of the
efforts of the opposition to duplicate and tripli. P.P.P to socialism is a direct logical OpposlI l.:>n
cate the PP into NAL. UNP. APRP etc .. is to all other parties which arc not socialist.
hardly worth the declaratory effusiveness of the As :1 ~ociali!'( party , the Peoplc'S Popular Party
THE LEGON OBSERVER \I
~~~~------~----r---~--------------
no illusions whatsover about the ethical goals
socialism, i.e .. the collective endeavour of all The Economy ~
.~ of the community to establish and
I",su.'. a just society. Nor is the P.P.P. deceived T HE UNEMPLOYMENT PROBLEM
pious phrase-mongering. Naturally as a so-
l eil' party, the P.P.P.'s main pre-occupation is By
with the unethical basis and structure of our so- J L S, Abbey & Ken B.ew
ciel) v.hich continue to create a vast con1plex of
The rolc of human resources in the development
social inequalities. For the P.P Po. soc ial inequali-
of any country cannOI be overemphasised. If in any
ties in contemporary Ghana arc significant "lIough
country, therefore. a large proportion of the people
facts which cannot render a party "insignificant"
who can "ork arc idle for variJus reasons 0;-
merely because it advocates their total elimina-
human resources arc in general under-utilised, Ihis
tion BUI was the P .P.P. banned becau!lc it was
respresents a serious economic waste, not to talk
"ic1significant"? If so. then nothing could have
about the soc ial and political problcm~ that it r.13Y
demonst rated more clearly the political imma- ~ . give fiSC to.
turity. illiteracy and obtuseness of the N L.c.
Broadly sp~aking, the latter problem may be
Some beneficiaries of the prescnt iCliqu ilOus so-
termed underempbymmt and the former un-
cial system in contemporary Ghana arc under·
ployment. The focus of this article is 00 uncmpl..>y-
standably bound, out of sheer self·in tere~t, to
ment. This is not to say that underemplojT' .... .,t
oppose socialism. Such people, however, should
is not import..:.c11 in the country but tha t \';e sec
do so with less hypocrisy and with more sincerity.
It as more of a rural pr~blem. much les'- di stin-
The most "'traumatic" evrot in the Nkrul~13h era
~uishable. which the gove rnment's emphasis e!1
was not that socia li <;m "failed", but thai as a
rural development will hopc~iJ!!y c1imin<!!: in the
historical truth , socia lism as an economic propo- near futur~.
sition was still-born . Otherwise, how, fQr example,
could a genuine sociali st economic policy have
seen fit to purchase with the tax payers' money Elimmanon or Underemp~o)ment
sub.marginal gold mines in Kon:m~o whiie lcav;'1.g
i. .. tact and undisturbed. the International capi- Rural development is of course aimed m mon.:
ti.! l ist stronghold of the Ar.;hanli Goldhcld'5; Cor- tllao thc clim;nation or rural underemployment
poration on our main rich gold ore resource~'') but \\"; b::l~.::v-.! that 2.ny such policy in Gh<!na
should at least incluLie thi s crucial objec tive: the
The 'Craze' of Nkrumah"s Era raisinp- of rural and ai-Zricultural income' n ~
meaningful way This C!)scotially amounts to the
Independent observers of the West hJ.ve als:> "rovision of adequate marketing facilities 'JnJ in
pointed out that the "craze" of the Nkrumah era th is regard the governmc'1.t's establishrrocnt of
for infrastructure (new roads, new ports, new faci- the "task force" is a step in the right direction
lities for gcneral and technical educati:')n and the It would ~cm at lea\t probable that if every
attempt to tran..,form an otherv.ise Colonial fron- farmer could ~ assured of :l malk~t f.or his out·
tier Force int:> a genuine. but idle National Dc· put there could be less talk of low produciivi ty,
fence Force equipped with expcn~ivc modern mcchanisation etc. Surely productivity should be
weapons) ironically con tributed largely to Nkru- based on total output (which we do not know for
most of our non·export agricu ltural products) ra-
rnab's o'\-n do. ... ~'fall Oddly enough it was the be-
ther than .... hat gets to the market.
neficiaries of the new elitist ~tratum of Nknllnah\ More than underemployment. however, it is
"socialist" Ghana who con.spiratorially opposed uncmploymc.,t , ... hich has received more publicity
his "wciali"m" If thi s argument is true then the in Ghana ovcr the past few years in both official
be and unofiicial circles. because heine. an urban Ie son must clear There is little point in
phenomenon it is more conspicllOus. It is indeed
altcmpting l) build !-iocialism with opportunist or ooe of the conerstolies of the population debate
with either b\\ning or £aping sycophants in short and the family planning exercise in parlicula r.
Without com meed and dedicated socialists, In the Serious as the problem is. however. in the hands
coming t.)f sot.:ial justice in Ghana. the of fanatical anci perhaps over.comOllttc:.J advo-stru~~lc
cate", for poplllation control. the UnCOlplf)}'Olcot
P.P P. will bc gUIJcd not only hy the Ics'>ons of problem has been, on SOme occasions. blown out
the pa\ t but also hy the Ic\SOns of the present of proportion"" So it is that in e Scplcmber issue
1IMIiIIIW" .. ........ "'LW II
)1l1li, Ilk ,,_ at gnw rapIoy-
Tbua ill die pomphld
"C'rns ............... pulll' .,~ in 1969.
JIOI"'I·1ion ....m ... u an iqre.
dj r d of .. "1IIpndi' policy. it wu _led tbat
ill 19fO .... roliployU_t wu all' pdy biah-25%
of tile -.. "bour force and about 9% of tile
.....1 labour bee - and lhere .... bee" 110 signi·
...... au I" rcducia& these JHopCIilioD".
1'1 • , ........
It wu also stated in Ihe same document tbat Fmally. the real dlecII of tile e"1 '. of
"tbc: ........y will bave to find additioMl jobo primary educ:alion bove DOl yet CIa ..
for an average of about 144.000 penons each employmcut sc'Ne TIle free and CIOIIIjIJIClIJ til
year IInril 1985". The ratienale for Ibis lancr catioD jriUBJammo _ started III die 1961{ll1· I
emmale may be found in the new one year deve· de• mic year. In that year lUI t iD IopJn.Dt piau. for the period July 1970 te June. Oass I wu more than double tbot of tile poeola
1971. pullliold iD September. 1970. On poge ye. .. from 106.928 10 231.184. 'The majlwlty of
145 of this document it is estimated tbat -aa these pupils bove faithfully gone tID ....... die 1)'1-
many U 210.000-225,000 enter the labour market tom and in 1968 the,e were 133,S77 of d n in
cac:b year. A growing proportien of theoe are Middle Form 2 as compared with 80,8'70 in die
middle "bool leavers. The preponcje!"i!~f this previous year. We tllerefore em. ...1 e tbot It tile
group among new entrants to tbe fto1Hir force IS end of the plueut financial year Ibe filii IMICII
\be result of Ihe expansion in the 1960's of middle of Middle Form 4 pupils wbo started om tile jHO-
scbooI aluc:ation. In 1970. more than 65.000 are gramme in 1961 win enter tbe job markes ...r
expected 10 complete middle schools. Of these there wilf be some 120.000 of thm! Oc rIJ faaa
only II% ..i ll gaiD admission inlO secolldary the next &nanciaI year 90% of on •• jobo
scbools. U 55.000 10 60.000 jobs are opened up created sbould be for Middle Fuow 4 So 1""31
for reploa_ts because of death and retire· leavers.
1IICIIits. there remains I residual of 145.000 or more As already noted tbe unemployment
additiona1 job opportunities required 10 accomJllO. is largely an urban phcnom I0Il. Tbis iI
date the emual increase in tbe ra..... of job of the drift of peork foom rural 10 wt r., I
seekers'". which is of coune not pea";" to 017
There are two points 10 be made about tb .. of the expl'M&- ....n , Ih= iI die
two quotaticDs The first underlines Ihe lack of of a minimum -.. in tile wbu
adequate It.-ledge of the IOtai number of UD- tends \0 attraet more peop1e tJoon -W be
employed, DOl 10 menlioD wbat the cbaracteristics with. This may DOl be 100 imjiOilOM I 9
of thr II are. Clearly there will DOl be much pro- minimum wall' is ""0"_ ....,. in lisa I' 2I
pas in reducing these proportions till .- knows union controlled eltlblisI'n ! .... AIIO ..
iiiOIC then we DOW do. This 11M ans that cw:n if many types of jobs, I "illIy
we ....,. III ~ ~ in creatin& tile requisite number ment, wbiclo do nat foB ..~ .. '" doe
of jobo they may not be filled because tile .- minimum .... I .. hliaD ...r in ...
entrants may DOl be found \0 be suitable or. ....., d,rectly oIfect oaIuIed
is ped..... betm _y of iI, tile jobo What be .lie
....t ed may DOl be ..i table the job 50 cit ..... ..l iafoeticD h_
TIois is bY the doi'" !bat &4 tile -- and
'Pe tlwt II hiP. "I' eTe II also aD boo Ii>
THE LEGON OBSERVER 13
~::1 amenities and subsidised services means city so that fewer people than possible are em-
~ "real" income for the urban dwdlers for if ployed. A lso with excess capaci ty. production is
/ie,,, had been non-ex.istent they would h2.vC had inefficient and this is reflected in the high prices
pay for them of the locally produced good~. Added to this. the
Another fa:tor is the system of educati'ln The relatively capital intensive techniques of produc-
~asis of the present system of education hfls never tion militate against making use of our cheapest
questioned seriously. The only Iheorit'!; of input. with labour. and forces us to use more
that .... e have are those that we in1lcritcd capita l which wc can ill afford All these militate
rorn o ur colonial masters. suited prc;)umably to agalOst the rapid expansion of the modern sector
more developed economies. This form of and. therefore. the creation of job opportunities
I therefore is a lu~ury for us. To think is hampered.
a:1Y form of education at all will in..:rease If we are prepared to live with all these coo-
uctivity, generate surplus val ue and c'q:and tradictions in the economy. then. to reduce the
economy t'llough to be able to absorb all those population eV..!1I would not leave us any better off.
out of the educational stream. thus just i- If we cannOl produce goods and services efficiently
the initial investment. i~ a fallacy ('If mis- then we have to stop produci.:1g human beings.
concreteness. It must be pointed (lut that For these imply that not only are c hildren luxury
is rlOI JUSt investment but consUlllplion items but that adults are superfluous.
at the moment in Ghana. our educ3.!ian is
for consumption in its overempha':is on
formal academit education further encouraged by MODERNIZING AGRICULTURE
the nature of remuneratioo.
By
Resources Vs. Production •
V K . Nyanteng
This structule of remuneration has tended to IT IS noted that a typical farmer itn Ghana farms
increase the expectation of school leavers. In the on a piece of land as long as it is fertile often up
1950's and culy I 960's, when only about 20% to 3 to 4 years. Once the fertility of the la!:1d is
of children of school going age went to ~chool. diminished. the land is left to revert to bush or its
it was easy (!'lough to provide white collar jobs natural vegetation The farmer then moves on to
for suitable school leavers in the urban areas and another piece of land which may be miles away
at salaries well above what they would have earned which he clears for his new farm. Meanw!lilc the
in the rural areas. At the moment when the rate fertility of the abandoned field is regenerated by
is about 60% and the numbers larger. it is no nature. Within any period from two to about 20
longer poSSible to provide jobs for all of them in years, depending on the vegetati.::m and the crop
the urban areas and they have thus swelled
the fanner intends to cultivate. the land i(' coosi-
up urban un.:::mplo) ment
dered again as ~uitable for a new farm This sys-
Another reo.<.on for the urban unemployment is tem of farming is caIJed shifling culitivation.· In
the improper balance between resource endow- fact. it constitutes the main farming system In
ment and (Jtoduction in the modern sector AfTlca.
Thanks to our colonial heritage we ha\'c tastes
There was rationale for practiSing this system
for certain goods and services which if we cannot
of farm:~g in the environment in which a Gha-
produce \\.c ha\'e to impen One ~ay of getting
naian farmer found himself in the past. Land was
around this ha( been to plunge hlindly into import
plentiful and population relatively sparse 1n the
suthtitution.
absence of knowledge of the existence and use
Since ~e arc poorly endowed with the neres<:ary of fertilizers. and the usc of compost and 31l11mal
resources we either have to imitate the ra\!, mate- droppings to maintain or improve the fertility level
rial imports or import them. This is inimical to of the used field. the only way known to Icgene-
rapid c:o<pansion Not only do we hav,,! to import rate the fertility of the used field was tc allow
the raw matefluh and machinery as well as skilled
personnel whkh nOt only leopardiscs our halance .. EDITOR'S NOTE: I think, [ should point out
of payment-- hut abo part of the little employment that there i ~ a difference bcrn'ecn "shifting cul-
which i, created is taken up by foreigners tivation" '\\hich means cultivators mo",! settle-
ments to obtain new lands and "bush fallow"
Secondly. th.: small size of the market means s)stem which in'-olvcs only a change of fanD
that mO!!l Industries cannot operate at full capa- sites.
14 THE LEGON OBSERVER
the field to fall fallow.
Althougb shifting cultivation is the response at
the traditional Ghanaian farmer to environmclltal
circumMances, it has been established that the
system is wasteful of capital in the sense that ca· et t at
pital is invested in clearing the field which is aban-
doned in a few years. It is estimated that if the
field could be maintained and the capital invested won er U t
in cJ~lring a new piece of land is used to expand
and to improve the fertility level of the old field.
farmers could make big farms. At prc5Cnl an
average farmer only cultivates about 2-S acres of , •
land. Because a farmer shifts after staying on a
field for a relatively short period. thi! system ,
gives the famlcr no ionccntive to invest in the land
they work in other ways. Under the system, a .. .,-
farmer may have as many as six small famls
scattered over a wide area This leads to both
management and marketing problems. It is noted
that the system is onc of the greatest obstacles
in the way of agricultural development in the
whole of Africa .
The Major Cash Crops
In an effort to increase the rate of agricultural
development in Ghana, an attempt has been made
to change this system of farming. Farmcr'\ have
b....-en told that this is an uneconomic syc;:tem of
farming. They have further been educated on the
advantages that could be obta:"ed by stayirg on
one field much longer if not for the whole of onc's
life and how this could be achieved through the
use of chemical fertilizers. compost and animal
droppings to maintain or even to improve the
fertility of the goil. However, despite all the lec-
tures and demonstrations. shift:"g cultivation sti ll
remains the main farming system. It is necC"Ssa ry.
therefore. to look marc carefully at the problems ever ti
faced by a farmer attempting to follow a more -
settled system of agriculture.
Ghana has two main vegetational zones. forest
and savanna. In the forest zane where C()('oa has
become the major cash crop and ha~ claimed a PRODUCED BY
greater part of the zone. shifting cultivation has
been reduced drastically. The nature of the oocoa rARAMOUNT DISTILLERIES LTD.
crop makes the farmers in the forest zone stay
<Xl the same land for as long as 50 or more years.
Staple food crops of the "forest" people arC' plan- P.O. Box 3816
tain and cocoyam and these could easily be grown
on the cocoa fanns. Kumasi
]n the savanna zone, shifling cultivation S!i1I has
greater attraclion and is practi<.;cd probahly to the
same extent that it was a -=~ntury ag..,. 1 he two Tel.: 6512
main contributory factors to the perpetuation of
December 1970 THE LEGON OBSERVER 15
About 80% of yams found in markets in Ghana which they stili find abundant. they give prderence
grown in the savanna zone. The farmers in to shifting from field to field with th~ seasons.
lone, through expcrirnce. have found QUI that Some farmers have tried the use of fertilizer on
'anlS always lequire "new" land for cu llivation their yam farm s and have no t been succe~sful in
order to get good} ield. Based on this expericn. its applica tion . Such farmers have concluded that
a "new" field is always cleared to cu ltivate it is probably not true that fertilizers can make
'a ms every sc~son. For this reason ~am is :i lways the difference. Others who are convinced that fer-
first CfOP to be cultivated on a new iand clear- tilizers can make all the difference and enable
for farmiClg if the farmer cultiva tes yams as onc them to stay on the same field. find it difficult
his crops. Yam farms can now be found at getting fertilizers to buy in thei r a rea With the
~i",a ln C(" of more than 12 miles from villages. belief that ya m a lways requires a new field for its
~:~'~:~,havcsting this crop. other crope; "t!ci; as cultivation and the problems of getti ng the ferti-
; ricc. ground nuts. cassava. etc .. are grown lizers. shifting cultivation has remained the ma il l
the same land. Some farmers claim thaI m:lize farming system amon~ the foods tuff farmer!o in
[can onl y do well on land on which yams have 5 r5t the savanna zene.
Jeen grown. The explanation is that such !and in
area normally supports some gras.:) (Hyp:u-
tm"nia dissoluta) called nkunkuma by the Orongs. Pnctice or Shliliog Cultivation
grass has an ex tensive root system which
'onms a thick mesh few inches dow,;) the s::Jil. 1f Another important cO:Hribmory factor to the
n ne grass is cleared. the roots remain in til.! so il. continued practice of the shi fting cu lti vation sys-
If maize seed i. .. put mto this soil it fails to ger- tem of farming is a grass plant (Imper•. lta Cylin-
minate . However. if mounds are made fo r the der~ca) called enloo by the B rongs. sebegro by the
purpose of growing)' ams. th.:: roots of the grass As~a.,tis. and IC!I1!,lfcmu by the people ar0und
are dug up and die under the sun. S:) that after As~boaso. The vegeta tive part of thi s grass is used
harvcsting the yams. the land becomes s\'itable as a roofing material by the farmers for their
for maize cultivation buildings. storage s tructures. etc. After a new field
has been cleared and put under cultivation of some
The Problem o f Farmers crop. th is grass sta rts germinating on the field .
Initiall},. the gra~s grows gradually and not a ll
ov,:: r the field so that a new field eould be cJ("ared
Farmerc; who want to use • nl..ullkuma-infcsted·· at lc.lg intervals. On new land which is suppt>rting.
land [or the first time fo r maize cuhivatiC'n clear say. yams. weeding may be d:>ne about 2-3 times
the field much earlier. Icavc the g rass to dry on between planting and harvesting. It is claimed that
the field and then bum it. This action dc-stroys on an old fidd the grass grows SO rapidly that. if
the roots in the soil and the field can he used such a field is used to cultivate yams. weeding
for maize cultivation This ::;lashing and burning ma} be done about 4 to 6 times between planting
method is not widespread because the "savanna" and harvestmg. 1t is believed that. if fertilizer is
J)I.~pl.:: largelv ... ubsist on yams and alway ... sec to used o n such a field. the grass grows much faster
it that thc.\ -~row .v ams at least for their subsis- and weeding has to be done at relatively s:lOrter
tence before considering other crops for cash. inte rvals. Thi-s contributes to the farmers' un-
Some farmers have di ... covercd that if th.; field i'\ willingness to sta~ on the same land and use fPort i-
ploughed. the roots )f the soil come to the surface lizer to regenerate the fertility of the soi l
and die. thu '\ making the soi l suitable for maize
cuhvation. The prohl.;:m of the farmers who This is one of the problems caused hy th is
would like the u .. c of this method is that thc-}' find gra!ls Another problem is that when it is w.:eded
2.nd it starts germinatmg again. the young plant
it dimcult to ;!Cl tractors ar:ld other implemrnts to
stabs the farmers when the~ go to work on such
plough the land a field. They claim it is vcry painful. Becausc the
The use of fertilizer .. might enable these farmer\ f:!rass ~rows fa~ter. and mav. soon cover the whole " ".
field. it becomes difficult for the farmers to work
"fay on the ... ame land and maintain the yieid or on \uch fields. So after the land has been ul)ed
c\en improve on it But here. too. there are pro- for a .. hart time of. sa! :!--t planti~1g seasons. fo r
hlcms. tost of these farmcrs are so poor thal they various crops. it is abandoned 10 be taken over by
cannot afford the cOSt of fcrtilizers and ..... ith the.: the grass.
io.oow ledge that the yam can do well on new land. There arc at least two possible solutions to the
16 TIIE LEGON OBSERVER 18 Decem her
problem of the grass. The first solution to the latrine and refuse disposal system for (he
grass problem is that the field should be p!oughed tion'; that 'it was ridiculous to clamour for
after every sea!on's cultivation so that the grass, nation. when it was much easier to prcvc,t
which starts growing. is largely destroyed as ex- ty the observance of personal and publi.; hygiene,
plained above. The other soiution mig!'ll be the The Minister of Health made a I:>rave ~how •
use of wecdicides to kill the plant to Ire root. but did not really meet public criticisms of his
Starn F.34 and Swep powder have been tried at ministry's handling of the cholera pro~lc1l1. The
a rice experimental farm near Arnantin in thl first point is. why. knowing the generally loose
Brong Ahafo Region to destroy the grass. character of our West African frontiers. jid the
ministry not start immediately with vilcdnation.
In conclusion. it is being suggested here that
01"1 hearing of the out·break in Guinea bJt lesortcd
if the shirring cultivation system of farming is to to the magical Connula, 'there is no C2l1se for
be slopped to give way to a beucr system of farm- alarm?'
ing in the savanna zone, then the use of plou2hs
and weedicid.:::s must be considered along-o;;ide the If vaccination is unnecessary. why then did the
use of fertilizers mmistry resort to it at all? It is certa;"ly lUdicrous
.---.. to talk of sanitation as the really effecti;:e rreven. -~,
tive measure against cholera. 1t will take genera.
tions for Ghana generally to acquire good water
Observer Notebook and that sort of sanitation system, pcp)c()al and
public hygiene that would check a cholsa out-
break once it appears on our borders. And that
The Fight against Cholera just is the reason why vaccination. to which the
minister himself. with all his impeccabl~ JX"Psonal
TliE Ghanaian press reports that on Friday C:irld household arrangements, has proo!lbly had
the lIth of December. the Minister of Health a recourse with his family, is necessary.
made a statement in the National Assembly de- The public is concerned about the lack of fore·
tailing the measures taken by his mini"try to sight shown by his ministry not only i.l failing to
oounter the possible outbreak of cholera in this set about vaccination promptly but ,\Iso in the
country when the officials learnt of its OC(;,Jrrence bizzare arra':1g~ments made for the operation once
ill neighbouring Guinea . it gJt under \\ay. The minister surely s.::.w for
The measures, according to the Ministe r of himselr the endless stretches of attenda:tts at the
Health. included a thorough briefing wlih films Adabraka polyclinic. And if this is what hl1ppened
and lecturcs of all doctors in the ministry's major In Accra. how did the villagers fare? As il is. it
centrcs and regional heads of Medical Services IS nlC3ningful (0 ask how many deaths hav!: occur-•
on the measur.::s to take for the prevention. treat· red of which we know nothing.
rr.cnt and cure of cholera. The doctors were asked The Ministry of Health must be told that words
to investigate all cases of diarrhoea by laboratory like 'there is no cause for alarm' are never a subs-
methods. In keeping with international prttclice, titute for action and planning and that the public
certain priority groups were singled oul for anti- expects some lmaginati.on in the deploymmt of
cholera vaccination. these included fi shermen Yo<ork teams on occasions of this sort. The ufficials
whose occupation took them along the West ere paid to cater for tbe convenience of the public.
African coast and who. therefore. were likely to
contact the disease and spread it most The fisher·
men, however, had refused vaccination because
of its unpleasant side·effects.
Thl! disease, the minister is reported to have ADVERTISE IN
said. had. as been foreseen by his mini ~.try, been
imported into the western and central n.:glolb. The
outbreak in Kcta had been transmitt.:!:..! I hrough THE
mourners in Togo. Rigorous measures <l2ainst a
further spread of the disease. and for the speedy
cure of cases had been immediatelv taken But
the ministry still thought that 'the only way the 'LEGON OBSERVER'
disease would be overcome was to acc..:ierate the
provision of {;ood drinking water and 'In efficient
1970 THE LEGON OBSERVER 17
caps and behave lI!..e men.
rs The manuradu rers ha\'e not been able to call for
c;!.neellatinn of the Open General Licence system and
the sllrcharge. because to an extent. the presen t sLtuation
The [lrccts of Ibe Surdurce is th.:i. own crcati{"ln. At a time when this counlry W 3 S
in ~cch economic difficulties ..... hen Ihe balance of pay-
a kiter publi~hcd in the (L.O. V 23) a '::ll!,InbulOr
ments po .. ition was in danger of p;)<;sible dislo. .: ation.
the rrunufactur..::rs of thi .. country fer thcir
the bu\inC5'mcn piled Uf' prev,ure up{"ln the :;o\"c rn -
to put up a concrete case for ,lOY objc.:tions
ment to place raw mate ria ls on Opcn General liC'CJ1ec.
rna) ha\'c against the 5ur(;hargcs rc.::c.:ntly Imp.)~cd
impMtcd fa.... materials. Whether they thought this could be achieved without
some mean heing de\ic;cd for protecting tn" fure ign
ma~ing thc~ comments, )'our contrihutor "as cJ(ch:mge pCl':ilion I do not know. Now that they have
pb,bl, guided by the recent statement Whllh was got the ()G_L. the) asked for. can they turn round to
b) the ~Ianuraclurcrs' Association and published tell gmernment to cancel a system they have thcmsches
r ,,·. • local dal'ies. I am not a member of the EXcell- ad\ocated? And 50 the half-hearted approach and con-
Lommillcc of the Manufacturer.;' A~~ocialion and trad,ction";. to say nothing of the confusion in thc m,nds
~ "o, speal.. fN them. But I can imagine. coming. as of the public. must go on.
I so soon after the Pre~5 interview by the i\llnislcr Thi~ I' not to <;ay that the gO\ eromcnt ha~ any justlfi-
Finan(c and Economic Planning. thai the qatcmcnt c~tion in introducing import surch3r:;es of such seve-
Intended to be a reply to the Mmistu's mterview rity Beforz. the Budget. manufacturers in the shoe in-
was published in the Graphic issue of 10th dustry. for eump\c, \Ioere paying import duty on raw
1970. materials at the I<!te of 10%. This rate of duty has now
agree with your contributor that the A<;<;,,'cialion's been increased 10 66i90. an inerea~e of 56i%. In add i-
~~~~;: lIor to thi<;. we no. .... ha\ e to pay import su rcharge of t d id not merely beg the question bu! Lt was uncalled for I personally con~idercd Ihe 40("< This brings the tota l additional tax bu rden to commt:nts ~o arrogant thai nothing \rort of an 96;Cfr \Vhere we ha'e to Import nc .... machlncT) for
condemnation should have been Ihe m{"lsl ap- rep'accment purposes we have to pay another 50/0
top",,, thing 10 do. lIow<:ver. the ASSOClatLon. per- surl'harge.
cowed b~ the [\1;n;<ler's word~. thou~ht It fit \"'nat LS the sense In this. I <!sk? How on c<lnh ca n
relreat f rom its pro., ;ous st.and and to aGopt that <;uch incIT"lSC<; in taution be justified? I can undcrstand
~f"a',,,, attitudt:. t thin!" the time has cl'mc when this a ~raduated increase of say fiyc. ten. twenty. or eyen
or sheepish submission 10 aUlhoriy should cease, thiny r.!r ccnt. But how can you jump from tcn to
that people should begin to put on th1.:ir thln!..ing l06jo/t: and e:tpect the manufacturer to continue in
\,
-•
use apex •
ball point pen
•
18 TIiE LEGON OBSERVER
business. And yet this is what has happe.nd In the ca~ inlellit;enl) to approach the "projects" office al d;,lIria
of the shoe industry_
le\·e1 and say "We have a problem but abo the ",'ilJi ...
To add pain to injury, the government has persistently ness to sol\"e it if you will help us". The proittl of&cer
warned that in spite of the increa§Cd taxation. it does can then prorer advice and the appropriate literature
not expect any significant increa~ 10 prices. This is and. If ncc«.ury. \i .. it the r:roject_ The local initiator.
precisely ",here I dlS.:lgr.:!c. We have il on record that howc\·cr, , ... ould rdnain pnmarily responSible ror the
with 43% dc\alualion. prices rose in 1968 hy no less project
than 14.9 reT ctnt. Devaluation loss C2.nr,ot be "3id In this W3\·, not only will the cost of den:lt1pmenll
to be a dircd item of cost to a manufacturer ar:d if it he cut. bUI its S:.1Cl:e~ made more sure became it resI\
should influence prict5 to this C\.lcnt. then II is ob\ lousl)' In thc hands of tl'!c community itself.
wishful thinking to say that with these fant:\~tic in.
Ar,riculfural ECODorniC'i Depanmenl Neil Parker
creases in the cost of re\. . materials l~ c,j!;ting price ~on
Jc\"c:1 should be maintained. If the gO\.ernmem is not
prepared to rationalise these taxes then It sh.:)uld be.
bold to tell the people to expect price incn:as::~ which, 'nle Lost Oppo!'tUoily Of The Hutdlful lncidenl
to my mind. would be considernblc. It is recessary SIR--corrcspondence on the Hutchful episode ~nd espe.
to make this quite clear to s.,"e busin~men from cially Mr. Adjei-Brenyah's lettcr in your last i~cuc (I. 0
beine used al !Cape-eoats. V /24) have so shocked me that I must O\'erCllmc my
Amb3.SS:ldor Shoe Factory Ud. E. E. B Ofori·AHa indifference and write 10 give one other \ide of the
P. O. Box 363 story. M::n!lJ,':in; Director
Aw. One had hoped that for once the Hutchful epi~ode
would spark a rc\olution amongst Ghana 'tudcnts ~o
~d"rship io R:.:ral Denlopmer:t that they would rise up to their re5ronsibilily towards
SIR-May' add a thought to Clemence Kudiabor's Ihcmse);·cs and society. But Ghanaian students ~it quiet
iugsestion of utilising local notables for the l!e\-clop. ly and do nothing when poltticians talk of slashing their
ment of "illa,('~. grants bUI the politiwlns continue to ride in tlil; C:::~_
They do nolhing when aher one. year these politicians
To achieve hl~h and e,,·enl)· distributed growth In do not declarc their assets ::IS enjoined on them by the
our rural areas. it i, acalmcci that a multiplicity of
C('In~titution. e e t .. bo,,'e all. they seem totally unaware
small projects covering a large proportion of the \'illage.\ of what, for In~tance. Djakarta students did 10 their
in Gh.m3 will be: n«:cs.sary. This approach. howe"er, roliucians when they thought they were guilty of pro-
has proved and Will continue to pro\'c the most difficu!t
fligate spending and were thus letting the: re\·ciution
to conceive and operate. For each small proje:::t the down.
three cssential ingredients are expertise (inciuding Gh::lnaian society not only took the Hutchful chal-
I'in3ncc). 1001 knowledge (of the people and agriculture)
lenee lying down but also had to employ the old un-
and motiv:uion (integrity. having the confidence of the sober adulatory arguments to justify its re\erert:e for
p::opl:: concerned. and a willingness to help). Howe\'er,
people who take it for rides- yes, Gh;:ma is so great
rarely will all three be present in sufficient quantity for
that our Pnme Minister should ride in a Mercedez
succc~s. Up to the prescnt time the Ministry of Agricul-
Ben~ . How d<!re one sug~est OUR Prime Minister
ture has been making strenuous efforts in local agricul- should ride 10 a smaller car when e\cry small basiness-
turd de\,e1opment by relying on village·bas~rt agticul.
man can buy such a car etc. etc. Thev are totally un·
tural :lSSistanls. who tend to emphasise their own gene.
aware that in a country like S ...· edcn. for instan-.:c:. the
ral agricultur.J.1 upertise to the detriment of a full Prime Minister. campaigned in the last elections in a
appreciation of the problems of thdr particuiJ.r eQYj.
Volkswagen; that in a country lilce Sweden, the Prime
ronment. not to mention any Jack of motivation (as Minister has not even an official residence yet. ,,"hat·
oron Akyea said-"civil servants do not have 10 exert e\er you may think. Sweden is definitely 'Tcatu- and
thcm!cl.cs 10 get paid").
much richer than Ghana
H (as L.O. V'24 implied) the above method'l at;! nOI Indeed a people gets the government it desery<,"i and
proving satisfactory. is It time to tum our <llte-ntlon to Ghanaians are doing ju~t that. includin~ the Legan
"the village school master. the calechisl etc'" The qua· Socicty on National AffaIrs. whose only aeti\it} seems
lities likely to be found in a few prominent persons in to be pubh~h;ng its ··or.ean" every fortnight: indudlOg
each community wt)uld Inelude local knowledge and me who am ~ sickened by il all that I have oplre oul
moli\'ation bul nol agricultural expertise. Could not of the society and think only of m)'self and mine.
this expertise pr')bJcm be tad..led by a strategically Ghana Pub'i~ ir.t: CorporntiDrl W K. An'i:lh
pl:u-ed department through which the government could PubJ[stliD~ Oil isioD
find its proper role and achie\'e the sucres,> il 50 che· Prh'ale Post Bag
rishes with 5urpmingly liule cost? T.ma
Em isa!!ed is a deJ'artment based on district or regional
Jc\·.:1. staffed hy a handful of competent agriculturalist,> The Net'd for Pnss Council
anr{ eqnipn-:d with a carefully prepared sene'> of "Do· SIR - The Milllster of Information. Mr. Brodie-Mend,.
It·Yourself.typc'' manuals such as "Introducing toma- has called for the immediate establishment of a Pre"
hK:'I a~ a C'ash crop" or "How to bUild a sm:!11 dam 10 the country. The nced for a Pro!"is Coum.il
f..,r irng:'lti\lIl") Thc de\'elopmcnt process ,,",auld then ha,> ),cen ~trc'5scd O'er and ,)\er by almost all the news-
rei} on the initiatl\.e of the\{' local le3de~s (who wish J'l3pers In the country Including the Spokmnan and the
to help the community. understand the ennronment and ~on Otxent'r. The call by the Minister should. ther.·
the people pt'rsonally and are respected. trusted and fore , be welcomed by all those who cherish the rreedom
•
1970 THE LEGON OBSERVEk -
press. With the dcvalualion of planmng in thc regions n09
•
OI:c.,ioa of thc Minister's call. howc\er. raises should the Ica<krs of Krachi be al a ICISS as to whal
feaN ::bou( the motive behind his slalcm::nt. The do aboul thclr grie\anccs. they are advised to quid
ca ll W35 the Immediate result of the Spol.es- make Ihem known 10 Ihe Volta Region Planning COl
rerort that Scotiand Yard was helping , .... Ghana mille<!
in their imcnigatiom; ('In a currency deal .A.no- l\1elK3h S:JTbab lIall J. K. S3picDI ALp:-l
repo rt was on a news despatch on the h.;:ahh of the Lea:on.
I According to Mr. 8rodic-Mcnd~. the ne ..... s
-Iulkd" b)' "pctlplc who respected thcm'>cl\cJ and Obsencr's Lanl!uage
r pwfc'>lIolOn" SIR- Plea .. e allow m:.:. to draw allenlion to the follo'W
p o" C(luld con.:ludc thai the Spo"c";r.aD·~ rC;m11 W:'IS probkm
N(m the ,;u'I,'sllOnS which 3.ri~ arc thc~c v.-h\'
The r..:adlng public of Ihc Legon Obsencr en
an~ of th e ro\,crnmcnl.O\\ncd nCW'ipapcr<. publish
readi ng, and highly :lppreci3tcs. the contnbutior
$cotlan,J Yard story: \'\'hy did the !,-o\'crnmcnl both :13tlona l a.nd ir!lcrnatron:l1 a ffair<; , which ar(;
n,lt 10 inform the Gh:tnaian public of thc tru e of hi1h qua.lity. and show marks of objectivity
I of thc Prcsid.::nt. and especially of IhC' nature
p;cse!ll~tion of 1hz faCIO;, But a problem "CCUT"i whe
his !I!n::~s?
thcr..: is (hoile of 0 .. cr·5p~;;:i;:lizcd v:ords, 'Whi ch 31
r..lr Orodic-I\lcnds \.\-ant a Prc!>s Council made
often b.:rond the I:Om~rehcnsion of some of uo; Wil
of m~m~f'\ \' ho will bc ch(',<;cn hy the go·. ... rnment.
special rdeTen;;:e 10 both Special Edilio"l<;' "B'lsia SI
whom tncy \·."Ii l be "yes men';''' Thc occasIOn of thc
Far" (Vol. V'20) and "Opposition So Far-Gh<lna am
call \',as unfcrtumHe. Wh;1t we want i .. a
Africa'· (Vol. V,23) the contribUIOrs w~nl too far and
Cc,l.!n(.:il cO;"1pri',;n& rncmb>.:~s with nntion~ of ree·
made It Impossible fer some or us to appreciate their
and of indepcnden..::e of mind. who will ha\'c the
<;en ...._ __ to ruhlie the lruth. If what is dcsiroXl is the efiorts
/l.by I appeal to your contr ibutors 10 wnle morc
·1 of facis which may be un~lC<l lnt. then
o;lmrl~ bearing in mind the \;lfying standa rds of rour
is 'cq:Ji red IS a Ccn<;orship Bo:!.rd and nllt ? Pres~
m':ln~ n.:adcrs.·
L.A . (\D~lic:;:m) !\tiddlc Sdlool J. E . Oom£Cb
"all ElUllt,Hluel Addy Fum:",ua·Asbaoli
.!I Edilor's ~ole: \\ e hope our eontribulol"'i ",ill t3k~
note or this.
Splil in tl:! !: Vo~ta ltC1:ioQ
-Mr Co<;m:!..-.. Ya\\ Khra'~ commeilt~ in the ul!on
( L "0, ,. 23) on M~, J II. KO~,.l Fw.fo(~ ~f j sc~l1an"" nus
c,,:pr:~~H~'l~ ;:!"!,'ul r..:ccnt rn"l\"e~ for sec\: <ion I
,hl' \'01la flo! 'un of Ihc h.ralhl O"lril"' ,puillicl\' LEGALISATION OF ABORTION
~Ialed 1:0 ... S"j.'C "I ils !cadef~ ... ere I rr.::le\2.nt and ml"
By
f\:f) pc\'pk hao; the malicnahlc right Itl r,~WClate E. M Olcherc
""lIh d'l,d,e\ cr "I,unH'y It likes. P;O\ idcd condith"')n\ are
f:1\ou;abk ~,lr h..hr.,J. has C\CT)' ril!ht to cxpre\o; hiS ON the 19th of November. 1970, an honou:al-
b" ;>1" .... t!--::- ~ T !"hh 'ra an1 hi~ /1.1 Ps. !,luI hi~ eHorts member of Parliament tabled a mo~ion cail,ng en
tn hhncl\ ur!' .... ':1 Ihelr tnf:lllihilil, h~\'e on I) ~u .. cecded the HOllse to Icgalise abortion
In II nt: h.·n ¥ hs )1·. n i&n0r":lnce of natlnnll tn.:r.d" so
far a:;. d .. • cI'~rr-c 11 planninr,: for areas in the l(,l~ntry IS Ma\ 1 take this opportunity to comll1ent on
c{'m;crn .,1 this all important motion_ The honourable memo
I b~:'l:''; \:r ri .. fM wa" rlghlfully Wnlil3.llOg his ber asserted that illegal abortion in the CN!I fry
\'iC'\vpo;n. ;;.r.d c '- .... ';"n ~~OU! the c;ron~{'u\ \\:If ground. has b~cn on the asccndcncy within the last t'
lc~!1 ':Ih" t- ~""I"!'I:1.('fll ,'. .. bC'i"l~ rroj~'tt~ In explain year') ba"ling his assertion o n figures re1easf'd
the n":""I1.'ct or Kra.hl Oi,lri(t. ~hilh I~ IU\! {,'1e ;Imcmg centl~ by the Minisler o f Health_ Out of
m.1m' unJ1.'\1."('nc"c arc:ts It I~ stranfe 10 5U!!!l:C~t tl':lt
Ihe Yoh3 Rcgl('l:1 -\,!mlnl.-..:r:lIion 311d. Krachi Ddrict Ifi.955 abortion ca..,es treated. III womcil I
('ounol ,fC r_~,",""m!1hle f,lr thc altered "dlscrimin;'lIOr." man~ of whom were unmarried and girls, T
ne~I("'C1 I,r Kra ... j 11 IS :;.Ir:tn~e !.Iill fC'r a well informed very serioliS and the report should allr'
l'jli1t:n I,f I,'¥..I\' Ghana tn t'C so pillfulh u",,",,-are of attention of all citizens.
the ~('Our~e of dc\ehl;"mcnt planning for the rcglom at But the questions now to be looked I
1C.·l",1 b..:~,'r.: Iho: S. ·--nJ Rt:r.ublic ao; 10 I:O,1(el\-1.' Ihat
joininr ;o.noti"cr rC'!I.'n would be thc '-"olulion 10 neglect whether the move to legalise abortion
s..~ "otr Kh~a'~ 1\1.'1,1 analogy IS nOl IU'I unfilling but an end to abortion or reduce the numt
funny lion cases: and ir it is le-ealiscd . wha
IImlC'·Jr:\hl,.. \1 P ~ f\1T the arc.1 <;h.luld al !c;I.-..t "now to be its religious and social implica '
the IfU' \' And m3lic II Ih..-.r n .o. .;;pon~ihllit) 10 clea r the II mU'it fir~t of all be considered if i
mind~ .,f th ... lr r.:'ople I,f 'iuch an CTr(1r imtead ("If knd. rot to encoural!c abortion as far as r
iOlt Ihclr ~IIP"Mt II' II Tn any cas':."' "c know that our
'C'I\emm-:nt "no,"" the ~lluallOn and It~ implillltions Christianity or Islamic. is concerned.
toel1er H:'I.rrih tOIl. we know Ihat Krachi is (lnc of the Commandment of the Decalogue .....
undevelopcrl areas in thc Tt,ion on tht' priority list "Thou shall not kill" . In the Chr:c
,• THE LEGON OBSERVER 18 December
lcrefore. any ODe who causes abortion is as from government hospitals, the quack.
:lty of murder as anyone who geLS it causcct. will definitely go into business on a large
is decision has been arrived at becaus.! I am The number of deaths among our girls will
winced that causing abortion-leading to the crease instead of being reduced.
h of the foetus and premature birth uf a Legalisat!on of abortion will definitel} be a
e father or mother-is no less a crime than boon to our numerous "high time"' girls and lure
19 a dagger through the heart of another per- OIhers into prostitution since they would be able
" " ~his act is vehemently opposed La religious to have a legal way out to avoid ha"'ing "un-
ds and teachings. ]( th..: house should over- wanted" babies. They will ever look upon married
these points and approve of the motion, then life with contempt and shun it so as to enjoy the
'uld be indirectly helping poopl: to cause pleasures of "care-free" ]iCe. Will they nOI tben
r and it is likely to incur the bitler dis- become a menace to the society?
• UI e of the religious bodies in the country It has been observed that divorce b u<;,uall)
IJ)O .! fact the world at large. averted when women get 1010 the family way.
ISo,1l our women stop this practice if abortion There IS of too a reconciliation after safe c'chvery
•
legalised and will they always go to the gov- and peaceful married life continues. Scmc girls.
oment hospitals to have it caused as was anti- particularly school girls, have been abl..: 10 gd
paled by the honourable member? husbands because the men who put them in the
It cannot be over.emphasised that, with the Ie· family way have often been compelled to marry
,alisation of abortion, our women, partIcularly them. What would have been the fate of such
he young, will be encouraged to indulge in for· women if abortion had been made legal? The
nication and habitual sexual acts at the e~pense "fortune hunters" would have quickly resorted
of their health. Many women and girls arc likely to abortion to enable them wTite 0([ their pros·
to fall victims and the number of abortion cases pective wives and concubines.
wil1 increase in great numbers. The people to Legalising abortion means legalising the sale
suffer most will be our lady students and village of abortion drugs. And can it be guaranteeJ that
school giris. And since many of them are tar away in their haste to "get the thing out" our girls will
BEST W [SHES OF THE SEASON
from tho "LEGON OBSERVER"
to • OUR PATRONS
• ALL OUR READERS
OUR BUSINESS FRIENDS
(ADVERTISERS, ETC.)
• OUR SALES/DISTRIBUTION AGENTS
• OUR COLLEAGUES OF THE PRESS
• ALL WELL-WISHERS
THE LEGON OBSERVER 21 1970
ments In connection with our annual harvest_ At last
pallel'l enough to take the drugs according to long, the secretary travelled to the local Governors,
( "'CU"OS and also go in (or the right type of at a distance of about 7 miles, for a penni! to enable
us to organize our annual fund raising harvest. Accord-
this case in it s entirety. one would be 109 to the secretary, who incidentally is an illiterate ,
to conclude that legal bing abortion is the local gove rnors, (you know them better than :--e
villagers and so there is no necd for giving thei ~ offie:al
, ..o Ot nt to leaving a house by the mlin g. . uc tit!es) ha\'c not chanfed the ir altitude since the colomal
to ~tcal back into it through the back door. days.
this connection, rna) I suggest that the The) insisted that Koo Bro. the sec retary. should
1~:~:~e~parenlhOod Association be given e\er) ·sr.:ase their palms" before they Issue him with ~
~ both financiall} and technically, to pamit IIc made i. plain to them that this was the "I:!bl
1\"11 Yie Party" I II pown and that if they would 'lot d iS'
and extend it s opcraiions to eeucate chargc their duties without fa vour, he would "'"-c to \t
women on how best they can 3'ooid havmg that tl'.cy were either tra nsfe rrcd or dismissed, Furthcf
babies. Prevention is better than (:lire he would nol hesitate to bring it to the no tice of our
our women should not be encouraged to uke Member of Parli amen t, Hon Kwadwo Kontopiaat,
only dispose of through lega l abortions. DDT, ASP R 0, AP e. A FRO Realizing tha t to it
Koo Bro was not a man of straw who should not be
legal aClion should be taken played wnh, a pennit was hurriedly issued to him_
~ ;'''I any quack doctors who cause abortion as It was upon Koo Bra's arrival to Kon topi aatkrom •
as the women who go to them to have their that it became known at the local " Don't Mlnd·Your-
aborted. and severe punishment meted Wife Palm Wine Bar" that the ~ocal governo:s were
to them . Where shall we head to if ab..~i1ion encouraged by the "Jokers Party", our rivals, to disrupt
all our plans, and prevent us from organizing our annua l
legalised? fund raising harv::st fe stival
On the day of the hane .. t the whole population of
For the information of IVif. K\~. . :](hl O KODtopi33t Kontopiaatkrom \Vent wild With JOy. as we p:lraded the
LETIT:R FRO\1 TIlE ClT(?.E~S OF KO''TO- narrow streets with ou r ba rvest products, which included
TO HON. K\\ADWO KO NTOPIAAT a big goat and danced to the music of "Sca Never Dry
_ We ought to have written earlier, but for pres- Brass Band" You remcmber, the Organising Committee
of . 'ork and tht" question of paying for postage, of the hanest passed a resolution of no confidence in
with timidity. )"ou, for neglecting to fulfi l your p romi~s. especially
your lac;[ visit to your const ituency of Kon- the tarring of the village narrow streets. Koo Bro who
it was agreed at the meeting of the Execu- has been watching your interests all these days, took
Commiltee of the dynamic "Ebl 'ti Vic Party" a decision and managed to raise a loan with which
our annual Fund Raising H:nc<,t "hould tlke place he pllrehascd the goa t at the harvest fo r the "ring
Sundav, 15th Novemher, 19iO. Bdor..: you left for leaders"
in your new shin;ng "Super", you rcm::mber \,,"Ith Ch ri stnns on ou r door-steps. and our hopes
"e organized a fitting "c\c,lme with the prof\d8and~ shattered by the poor cocoa harvest we obtained just
blaring high-life music With ,nteomlttent :tnnoun<.'C· 'CIO_OO from our harvest sales. You could well
~~~:cOf \'our arrival at Kont('lpiaatl.. ·om and how the imagine how poor are the ci tizens of Kon top iaatkrom ,
~ t \'illa;:e was turned into Jubilation, as if there was We had to pay NCS.OO to the "Sea Neve r Dry Brass
wedding march in one of the big towns It was with Band" which we could ill afford, so we a re appeallO~
heSitation that you invlt\;d your parents", ho can- to you to remit this amount to us at you r ea:liest con-
do away With their wall..ing sticks, to ride in your venience, as the leader of the band is threatening to
"Su.,er", with all the villager; lool..ing In amaze· instllute civil action agaimt u~ at the loca l Od'kro's
"the in",de of your car", the radio and you- Court.
Wife bV your .. ide In fact, it was a doly which \Ve have been working "harder"- and " faste r" to-
citizens of Konlopiaatkrom Will never forget wards the com pIe lion of the local Commun'ty Centre
We fo llowed your in<;truction .. to the letter and won· and the Water Supply. throu~h commu nal labour with
how the townsmen ano "'omen would be able tech"iea) advice and financial assislanee fro m the " P ~o
maLe their contributions t"'lards the annual harvest Su re" go\-ernment. The two projects must be ::on;,le tco
you a:e aware, owing to the recent heal)' rains the before Christmas, ~ that we can invite you to the
r:,~.":::~~;: of thr. fanners (If good cocoa har.cst had opening, to grace the occasion with your presence and shattcred Already "ome farmers, including your dignity, as the M P for Kontopiaatkro m Const'tuency.
uncle who had done so mueh for the dynamic "Ebi All the folks at home join me in thei r felicitous
I"" Yie Party", had rai~d loans from some middle- greeting to you, Pleao;e do not o \'erwork your~lf and
men with the understanding that payment would be do not fo~get to champion Our cause at the Nationa l
made during the cocoa ~a .. on. \\ith the threat of legal Assembly fo r your reward IS great and moreover we
actIon against them Some cf the farmers did not take cannot afford to miss you, our :.~viour, mentor a"d
thei :- creditors .. eriou"ly nor threat o f coun action benefactor whose absence from Kontopiaatkrom has
since the raising of loam j~ not a new th ing to them created a vacuum which canno t be filled by the secre ta~,
Smce your la~t visit there had been "Cries of deaths, who rcgretably is an illiterate_
mcludlng ) oung and old at K(ln topiaatkrom God bless you
Owing to the funeral celebrations, our seer:lary, Koo Your 's $lncerely,
Bro wasted Ihe time of the whole E'<eculive "ommittee l nil emty College k.oo Bro.
members falling to call a meeting 10 final ize .. II arrane;e· ('.ape Coa,;
•
22 THE LEGON OBSERVER
Are tools for talhionin, ddip1;
Book Review And the tumin, of a knob
Brin,s the tuneless in ,reat music.
Ontory and poetry
'Ille Dartt W ....d uu Into here and now ~d lovin, .
By Albert W. Kaypc:r.Mensah Perhaps I find more rele'\"ant to .... here
(Hont Erdmann Verla,. Federal now the figure of Ayi Kwei Annah's naked
Republic of Germany) (pace Abiola Iule. I believe be IS ri,htly and
Reviewed by Gerald Moore etntly naked) lyin, on bis hOi, bed and
THESE pouhS clearly Sprinl from an honest atttmpl ine to the bitter words of a
to keep coherence in a life which bas diverged phYSIcally contrast so ironically 'With,tsomc of
and spiritually further and further away (rom Africa. In which it is actually and
Mr. Kayper-Mensah is himself perhaps 2"'Olre of the dis- Can it be that a certain woodenness in the lines (Ill_
tance which now separates him from the daily experience Quoted 2Ife sufficient example) ,00 'With thit lack
of Afncan hfe. for, after a 100d nuny years at British real centre to which the poet's "ponin, hi .. <II:~~::
l.nivcrsities, he has spent tbe hlst twd\"c in diplomatic A certain amount of f:.mily CeamtfichbU.
attachments in London and Bonn. He seeh to campen- with snow and fir-trees, is really no substitute.
!:ate for the duality of his present existence. by invokinc. poetry anses when the need of a poet to articulate
for instance. the spirit of Beethoven and the wisdom hH~ sunering and his joy coincides with the need at •
ot the Akan proverb in aHemale &roup! of poems. Thus whole people to hear a new voice. How to do tha.
w(' bave nuny pMsa&CS apressin& the exaltation inspired in Ghana.. wbere most people Olnnot even hear En,lillh
by classical music: .nyway? A painful question, but I beJieve it i. most
And • Pastornl Symphony brOulht liL.ely to be done by those who, even thou,h wlnc
Back memories from .ounds of 'Woodland En,lisb, appeal to a common fund ot experience &net
Ot arabesques of pleasure and panionate desire voice a mood that many are longing to h~r voiced.
A feel dIStinctly Germ:!n .. .• If this is true, the &ro"in, points of Gbanaian
and lOme In p~ise of the more earthJ deliabb of literature are Kofi Awoonor-Williams, Ama Ala Aidoo
Hieb·Life: and Ayi Kwei Armah. Sad that two of these three
Nkomo kom are also in exile from the land. One can only hope
Who thints and buneen that this exile will not endWIC to the point wber. the
For Jour voice. writer can only address bis own experience .. ..
Your laughine looks? nile, an txperience necessarily dlToroed from that
But the best at siebts of most of his people.
Is the thint at thighs. But there is hope. En,lish poetry was never richer
It this dOC:ln't work . it is because the writer no Ton,er tha.n .... hen Shelley, Keats and Byron 'Were all in Italy.
Tlew. Germany with enough critical detacbment to and only WordlWorth was lelt to bleat upon our a.atin kiUs.
crote the Jense of a r;enuinely new tc:lationship with
it. Ta.b & verse li~e the followin, :
In tho!e qualities at mind
And temper that have made Poem
The German mind
Such 3. prize amon,
The Nation. - the Heidclber, O. tbe Birth at lUI Un.b.mn:a Cod
or the human spirit, (For V . A. K., Surgeon)
Ruest and most vital Maacles are common today;
Plank in his House of Sciences: Your irreverent tinkerinR with foetal m}steries
Th is sounds perilously dose to Leopold Senghor ask- Has made tbe child determined to be bom
inr; the Immortal Powers to set his beloved France. on A creature without divinity. r
the R ight Hand of the Father. I say nothing of those
other thing, which Germany must inevitably represent Yet your laconic notes this time proclaimed .)
for anyone ..h o has !i\'ed through the P3st forty years A real event; and your stuttered explanations _
(1'111 Mr. Kayper-Mensah has). It is enoueh to remember Your unacCU5tomed incoherence - ga"e the lie-
only where Ghana actually stands in relati onship to To your fetish of compendibw.-tl"re\·ity.
the ri chtr and more. ruthlessly progressl\e nations of Panheoogenesis is something that your kind
the day - of whi ch Germany is certainly one - to Will contemplate with but a sceptic smik
feel that the poet is in dangcr ..,f congratulating himself
on the de:ree of his acculturation. rather than telline His reahty, corroborating his mother's i,nonnce
Ghanai"ns at larze an)-"lhing they might usefully hear. Lod .. ed her in monal humility; diviRlty
There is much to be said for writine honestly of Is jealous. you see. and her's
one's ell:perience. and Mr. Kayper-Mensah's is that of Would have robbed you (Jr :.lI·human pnde
an ehtist ; but • saving sensibility to the lot of others In Aesculapian achie\·ement.
i. :.110 part of the true poet's eqUipment It would Go on then. mortal magiCian,
have laved this poet from writin, lines like the follow- Cousin of Prometheus; give her a sacred bearth
UI&: :
Wherem to make the progeniti\'e fire or passion
Home is where the book is friend; Of .. bich ber Maler denied ber.
AU AlDl, record, tape and .lida
X . k.. Del-A C
December 1970 T HE LEGON OBSERVER 23
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There are other banks in our problems on letters of credit,
COU!ltry, but none which has travellers cheques, foreign ex-
such dose links with its people change. and advice on economic
as we. And with our interna- development projects and invest-
tional connections in Britain, the ment are easily solved
continent of Europe, U.S.A. and
Asia plus a special relationship When in Ghana contact any of
built on special knowledge, your "'If 95 branches.
na Commercial Bank
HEAD OFFICE:
P.O. BOX 134,
ACCRA
Telephone: 64914.7, 6]524.61529 and 6J4~O
LO~roOl'i OFFICE:
69 CHEAPSTDE.
LO,...OON. E.C. 2
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