Eight Years of Transition in Ghana

Abstract

T WILL TRY to tell you something of what has happened in Ghana. 1 I see that the Speaker of the House of Commons is reported having said recently that brerrity is the one attribute of a good speech that is within the ability and power of all of us. That is the one attribute that I feel is within my compass, but it has been denied me today as I have been asked to speak for about 40 utes. I must crave your indulgence, therefore, for any deficiencies in what I say. In speaking this afternoon of the eight years during which I presided over the translation of the Gold Coast from a dependent Colony-cum-Protectorate into an independent member of the Commonwealth under the nalme of Ghana, I propose to corlcentrate on the political and constitutional aspects of the problems that presented themselves, not because the economic and social problems were or are insignificaIlt but because those were the problems that were most difficult, which engaged the greater part of one's time and attention and attracted the most publicity. Ghana is a comparatively small country with a population of only some 4i million, nearly all Africans, and without any significant non-African racial or immigrant problem, for the few thousand non-Africalls in Ghana are practically all temporary sojourners who return to their own homelaIlds when their period of work there is over. Ghana is not regarded as a vital stral:egic base Like most of the rest of Africa, it is under-developed and requires a large infusion of capital and skills from overseas if the living conditions of the people are to be improved within the next few decades. As elsewhere in Africa, its economy is mainly agrlcultllral and needs to be diversified, but it is fortunate in that its main export cropocoan which the country's prosperity depends has during the last few years been most lucrative and enabled it to finance a large-scale development programme out of its own resources. It is in the political sphere that GhanaJs chief importance lies as the spearhead of politically emergent Black Africa. During my eight years in Ghana, it was a matter of some astonishment to me how often I was asked two questions. The first was: Is not the grant of independence to an African texritory a new concept of British Colonial policy ? The second and more difficult to answer was: Are you not going too fast along the road to independence ? I should like to deal with those two questions this afternoon.