Quarterly Chronicle

The Royal African Society

Quarterly ChronicleAuthor(s): Alan GraySource: African Affairs, Vol. 55, No. 221 (Oct., 1956), pp. 246-265Published by: Oxford University Press on behalf of The Royal African SocietyStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/718877 .

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246

Quarterly Chronicle

Compiled by ALAN GRAY

PRINCESS Margaret is carrying out a tour of the United Kingdom dependencies in East Africa and the Indian Ocean. The provisional

programme announced before her departure included visits to Mauritius, Zanzibar, Tanganyika and Kenya. Princess Margaret's tour of the coast is being carried out in the Royal Yacht Britannia.

The tour commenced at Mombasa on Sunday, September 23, when the Princess attended Matins before lunching at

Princess in East Africa

Government House. Afterwards she drove through the streets of Mombasa and met Arab and Asian women in private before driving to the Mombasa

Stadium to be welcomed by children of all communities. A special Arab ceremony took place later at Government House, followed by a reception. The Princess was due to arrive in Mauritius on September 29 and remain there until October 1. The next port of call on her tour will be Zanzibar where she will stay two days before leaving for Dar es Salaam.

At Dar es Salaam she will declare open the new deep-water berths and drive through the streets to Government House. She will be present at a luncheon given by the East African Railways and Harbours Administration, and in the evening there will be a state dinner at Government House. On October 9 a great baraza (gathering) will be held at which all communities and organisations will present addresses to the Princess. The same day she will lunch with the Speaker and members of the Legislative Council. The following day she will visit Tanga, the principal sisal port, where a provincial baraza will be held. She will dine with the Governor-General of the Belgian Congo.

At Dar es Salaam the following day she will open a new hospital and training centre-a project which is designed to become one of the biggest and most up-to-date hospitals in East Africa. She will visit Arnautoglu Hall Community Centre for all races where she will meet representatives of welfare and voluntary organisations. The Mayor and municipal council will be the hosts at a garden party in the afternoon, and in the evening after dinner at Government House a masque will be performed in the grounds.

The following day Princess Margaret will fly to Mbeya, headquarters of the Southern Highlands Province, where a baraza will be held followed by an official luncheon. On October 13 the Princess will fly to Tabora where she will see David Livingstone's house and memorial. From there she will fly to Mwanza on Lake Victoria where she will stay at the Provincial Commission- er's house. After carrying out several engagements including a baraza in Mwanza, Princess Margaret will fly to Arusha, Northern Province, where she



QUARTERLY CHRONICLE 247

will stay at the Governor's Lodge. After a baraza the Princess will drive to Lake Duluti where she will lunch, and then to Ngurdoto Crater to see big game.

On October 18 the Princess will drive to Moshi to open the agricultural show. That afternoon she will fly to Nairobi. The following day she will inspect the East African Railways and Harbours workshops and attend the Royal Agricultural Show at Mitchell Park. That evening the Princess will attend a dinner party at Government House. The next day she will attend a mass rally of schoolchildren of all races at the Railway Sports Ground. She will present colours to members of Kenya's Olympic Games team. She will lunch with the city council, and attend a garden party in the grounds of Government House in the afternoon.

On October 21 she will attend morning service at All Saints' Cathedral, inspect the British Military Hospital, and in the afternoon fly to the Kinangop plateau to see a typical European farm. The next day in the course of Machakos, the Princess will attend a gathering of Kamba and inspect a parade of Kamba ex-servicemen. The following day Princess Margaret will fly to Nakuru, and that afternoon will go to Amboseli, the game sanctuary at the base of Mount Kilimanjaro. When she returns to Nairobi the following day Princess Margaret will open the Royal Technical College.

Before her departure by air for the United Kingdom on October 25, the Princess will attend a baraza at Kisumu at which tribesmen from many districts will take part.

THE Secretary of State for the Colonies, Mr. Lennox-Boyd, made a statement in the House of Commons on July 24 regarding a dispute in

the Eastern Region of Nigeria over the relationship between the Premier, Dr. Azikiwe, and the African Continental Bank. He said that he had decided to appoint a commission of inquiry, under the chairmanship of Sir Stafford Foster-Sutton, Chief Justice of the Federation of Nigeria, to conduct a full

investigation, and that this would "almost in- E. Nigeria

Dispute evitably" mean some postponement of the constitutional conference which was to have met on September 19, to review the working of the present

constitution and to consider further constitutional advance. The following is the text of Mr. Lennox-Boyd's statement : " A dispute has arisen in the Eastern Region of Nigeria about the relation-

ship between the Premier, Dr. Azikiwe, and the African Continental Bank Limited. This bank was founded by Dr. Azikiwe. On assuming office, the Premier informed the Governor that he had resigned his directorship of the bank. He, and enterprises with which he has been associated, are still shown as large shareholders in it. I have been informed that, during 1955, ?877,000 of public money was invested in the bank-and other large sums deposited with it-out of funds made available from Marketing Board reserves to the Finance Corporation, which the Eastern Region Government had established.



248 AFRICAN AFFAIRS

" I have also been informed that, following this investment, the bank was a party to certain documents contemplating that the Premier should be life chairman of the bank, and purporting to give him the right to nominate certain other directors.

" As long ago as last November I took the matter up with the Premier in London and we have been in correspondence since. In April of this year, Mr. Eyo, a member of the Regional House of Assembly, who had until then been the Government's Chief Whip in that House and Deputy-Speaker and Chairman of the Regional Development Corporation, tabled a motion in the House relating to the association of the Premier with the bank. He subsequently called for the appointment of an independent commission of inquiry. Dr. Azikiwe has now instituted libel actions against Mr. Eyo and certain newspapers. On July 14, after receiving a report from the Governor, I sent a personal message through him, inviting the Premier to agree to my appointing a commission of inquiry. I considered it essential that these matters should be fully cleared up before the next Nigerian constitutional conference. This conference will consider further constitutional advance for Nigeria and, in particular, the grant of regional self-government to those regions that desire it, in accordance with the undertaking given by Her Majesty's Government in 1953 in the London Conference report.

"I pointed out that such a commission was appointed in the United Kingdom when last the conduct of a Minister was called in question. I suggested that I should appoint the commission, as at least one of the matters to be inquired into is reserved to the Federal Government and the Governor of the Region is not competent to appoint a commission to inquire into federal matters.

" On July 16, I received from the Premier a message couched in terms which, I must confess, disappointed me. His message, which has been quoted extensively in the Press, implied a rejection of my invitation. Shortly afterwards, I was informed that the Premier and his colleagues, after considering my message, advised the Governor of the Region to appoint a commission with a sole commissioner of their own choosing. Such a commissioner could not inquire into matters reserved to the Federal Government, of which banking is one.

" On July 18, I made a further approach to the Premier, explaining this again. I also said that, although it would not be proper for the Premier to suggest the full membership of the commission since he would be personally involved in its proceedings, I would, nevertheless, be prepared to invite the person whom he had proposed as sole commissioner to be a member of it. I said this as I was satisfied that the person proposed was suitable for appointment.

"'I regret to say that the Premier rejected this second approach, also. Instead, he and his colleagues now advised the Governor to appoint a committee of inquiry and nominated three persons to serve on it. Such a committee could not compel the attendance of witnesses or hear evidence on oath, and its investigations of matters reserved to the Federal Government




would be of doubtful propriety. The Governor did not consider that to proceed in this way was, in the words of his Royal Instructions, 'in the interests of public faith ', and informed the Ministers that he felt unable to act on their advice. This decision of the Governor, who has a most difficult and invidious task, has my unqualified support.

" In these circumstances, I have decided that in order to secure a speedy, impartial and full investigation as to the investments made in the bank, and the grave allegations that have been made-matters closely affecting the conduct of Government-it is necessary that I should now appoint a commission of inquiry.

"I earnestly hope that the Premier and his colleagues will accept the decision I have reached as in their own best interests and in the best interests of public life in Nigeria as a whole. I need hardly say that there is no question of any attempt on Her Majesty's Government's part to impose a British banking monopoly in Nigeria, or to dictate financial policy.

" The commission will, I am sure, complete its work and report with all possible speed, but I am afraid that its appointment must almost inevitably mean some delay in convening the constitutional conference, which was to have met on September 19. I hope that this will not be long, and I have asked the other Nigerian Governments to accept this delay, regrettable though it is to all of us, because, in the interests of the Territory as a whole, these serious allegations must first be fully investigated.

" At the same time, I have made it clear to them that Her Majesty's Government stand by the undertaking given in 1953 about the grant of regional self-government to those regions that desire it. I trust that after the commission has reported we shall be able to resume our work together."

Dr. Azikiwe, the Premier, and other Ministers of the Eastern Region of Nigeria, have criticized Mr. Lennox-Boyd's statement, which they say " amounts to dictation, because it ignores the existence of constituted Governments in the Federation of Nigeria ".

Following differences between the Premier of the Eastern Region and the Colonial Secretary, the constitutional conference of regional leaders due to meet in London last month has been postponed. The setting of a fresh date will depend to some extent on the outcome of the commission of inquiry under Sir Stafford Foster-Sutton in the Eastern Region.

The commission is hearing evidence in Nigeria at present.



250 AFRICAN AFFAIRS

THE views of the three East African Governments on the Royal Commission on Land and Population in East Africa were made public at the end of

July. All three approve the Commission's chief recommendations-that the expansion of East Africa's resources should be effected by means of a change in the existing agricultural system from a subsistence or tribal economy to a modern cash exchange system; and that for tribal tenure

there should be substituted individual tenure. East African

Development These changes, it is believed, would create an incentive among Africans to adopt modern methods of agricultural production and marketing. Indeed,

as the Governors point out, by the time the Royal Commission's report had been written certain of its recommendations had been anticipated. For example, in some areas there has been an accelerated movement towards individual ownership of land. On the other hand, all three Governors stress the need for caution in setting up novel systems of tenure. Both Sir Evelyn Baring, the Governor of Kenya, and Sir Andrew Cohen, Governor of Uganda, criticize in strong terms the failure of the report to take account of the surviving strength of tribalism in African society. They agree, as the former puts it, that a change to individual from group responsibility is inevitable, but they feel that the Commission has over-estimated the speed at which this development can take place.

A conference of officers concerned with land tenure problems was held in Tanganyika in February, 1956, and the results of their discussions are to be taken into account by territorial governments in formulating their policies.

The views of the Commission on marketing and distribution systems have evoked a strong reaction from the governments. The Commission criticised what they described as " the obsolete conception of self-sufficiency " which appeared to them to inspire the policies of the East African Governments, particularly in regard to food crops and the use of protective devices to encourage local production. The Commission considered that this conception should be replaced by a recognition of the importance of raising the level of incomes.

The despatches from the territorial Governors and from the Administrator explain the objectives of the policies being followed by the East African Governments in these matters. The policy of the Kenya Government, for example, is to promote a stable and sound agriculture, which, by expanding the use of the country's natural resources and broadening the basis of the economy, will help to attract capital to the task of economic development. The present low level of the output makes it necessary, in particular instances, to afford some measure of protection to domestic producers against com- petition from abroad; but as the economy expands, domestic producers will be more able to stand on their own feet and protective measures will become less necessary. It is as progress in this direction is made that the East African Governments envisage that the restrictions which the Commission criticized will be progressively withdrawn.




In order to assist in the practical application of policy in this field, the East African Governments have now established a committee for economic co-ordination, composed of the Ministers concerned with financial and economic questions from the three territories. The Secretary of State has welcomed this decision, which will enable Governments to keep under constant review the effect on domestic consumers of measures used to assist producers, and to safeguard consumers' legitimate interests, as well as to ensure that policy is directed, in the light of long-term principles expressed by the Commission, towards the most flexible use of the region's resources without attempting to isolate East Africa from world economic trends.

The Commission proposed the creation of certain economic instruments on an East African basis which have not found favour with the Governments, because it is not considered that they would have the economic advantages claimed for them. The despatches demonstrate, for example, that an East African prospecting and mining leases board is unnecessary, and would be economically inefficient. Similarly, the proposal for an autonomous railway and harbours corporation is rejected, since it is not agreed that such a body would be any more likely to attract the necessary capital for development than the present Administration. The proposal for an East African road corporation is also rejected.

While the territories are, to some extent, attracted by the proposal for the establishment of a colonial transport development fund, as a source of transport finance in conditions comparable with the provisions made under the Colonial Development and Welfare Acts, their approval is subject to the promise that thereby additional resources would become available for the expansion of East African transport facilities. The problem is, however, the availability of finance rather than the need for an additional outlet through which the funds available might be channelled.

On the question of immigration, the Commission's recommendation that supervision should be exercised by the Governments on their own responsibility, and not through boards which might reflect sectional interest, has been approved, and in Tanganyika and Kenya new legislation is being introduced. In Uganda, the existing machinery is regarded as adequate and consonant with the principles expounded by the Commission.

In relation to labour matters, all the Governments reaffirm their belief in trade unionism as a valuable and necessary feature of development, provided that British practice is modified to suit local circumstances.

The despatches emphasize that economic expansion, on a scale which is admittedly desirable, would require far greater financial resources than the Governments and the East Africa High Commission possess.



252 AFRICAN AFFAIRS

In the Sudan Sayed Abdullah Khalil formed his new Government on July 7 with himself holding the Defence portfolio as well as the Premiership.

For his Cabinet he drew on his own Party and the People's Democratic Party, each with six seats, the Liberal Party with three portfolios, and the Socialist Republican Party with one. The N.U.P. led by the outgoing Sayed El Azhari will now be in the Opposition. Sayed Abdullah promised to follow

the will of the people in foreign affairs, seek the Sudan

Change friendship of all nations and abstain from foreign alliances.

El Azhari, after two-and-a-half years as Prime Minister of the Sudan and founder of the Republic, was decisively deposed. It is expected that general elections will be held in the Sudan next February, and only then will the people be having their first real say about their country's leaders since the Sudan became an independent republic at the beginning of this year, for the change has been brought about in a parliamentary defeat. El Azhari came to power after the elections of 1953, and all the political and governmental changes since then have been carried through at a parliamentary level, as distinct from national electoral procedure. The new Government is not expected to embark on drastic changes, internally or externally, with so little time available before the elections.

El Azhari's defeat came on a vote of no confidence in the House on July 4. The vote against him was 60 to 31, and he promptly handed in his resignation to the Supreme Commission of the Republic. Next day the House, by an identical vote, elected Sayed Abdullah Khalil.

El Azhari won the 1953 elections as leader of the National Unionist Party, backed in full strength by the Egyptians, who thought that afterwards he would link the Sudan in some way with them, and by the followers of Sayed Ali El Mirghani's orthodox Moslem Khatimia sect. His main opponent then was the Umma Party, which campaigned for complete independence for the Sudan with the support of the followers of Sayed Abdel Rahman El Mahdi, leader of the unorthodox Moslem Ansar sect. Sayed El Azhari gave a creditable performance in office, boldly side-stepped Anglo-Egyptian plans for a plebiscite and other more protracted condomini procedures whereby the Sudanese people were to have decided their future political status, refrained from tying Khartoum to Cairo, and on December 19, 1955, declared the Sudan an independent republic.

In this he showed himself a match both for the forces of Egyptian expans- ionism and the vague vestigial imperialism which thinks it rather nice even for republics to remain within the Commonwealth.

The motion was moved by Sayed Rahamtalla Mahmoud, of Darfur, who said that although the majority of voters had chosen independence El Azhari had a parliamentary majority for union with Egypt and had used foreign funds to finance his election campaign. The Opposition also accused him of being responsible for the riots in Khartoum early in 1954, of misruling the country, of using Government machinery to serve his own party and interests, and of responsibility for the Kosti " black hole " tragedy, when 189 cotton




workers were asphyxiated in a small barrack room where they were detained after demonstrations. Sayed El Azhari took no part in the debate, but supporters described him as the Sudan's liberator and said he should be t1hanked for achieving independence without bloodshed instead of being censured.

THE General election for the Gold Coast Legislative Assembly, held in July 1 resulted in a victory for the Convention People's Party, which

had held a majority of seats in the previous Legislature. It won all 44 seats in the Colony area; 8 out of 21 in Ashanti, where it was opposed by the National Liberation Movement, which secured 12 seats; 8 out of 13 in Trans-Volta Togoland ; and 11 out of 26 in the Northern Territories, where

Gold Coast Election

all the remaining seats were won by the Northern People's Party. It thus has a total of 71 seats out of 104.

Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, leader of the Convention People's Party and Prime Minister in the last Assembly, again assumed office, and the new Cabinet of Ministers was sworn in by the Governor July 23.

The United Nations Trusteeship Council, on July 31, 1956, approved an Indian resolution recommending acceptance of the recent plebiscite in Togo- land under United Kingdom administration. As the results of the plebiscite showed, a majority in Togoland, which is at present administered as part of the Gold Coast, prefer union with an independent Gold Coast to separation from the Gold Coast and continuing under Trusteeship. Out of a total of approximately 160,000 votes cast, 93,000 voted in favour of integration with the Gold Coast and 67,000 in favour of separation. The recommendation of the Trusteeship Council will be considered by the General Assembly of the United Nations next November.

The Gold Coast Premier, Dr. Nkrumah, has called on the Colonial Secretary, Mr. Lennox-Boyd, to honour his recent pledge to declare a firm date for Gold Coast independence when a motion calling for this was passed by a reasonable majority in the newly elected Legislature.

He claimed that there was no reason why the Secretary of State should feel any reluctance to fulfil his pledge. The constitution issue was put fairly and squarely before the electorate in the recent elections and it had returned its verdict. " By all normal democratic procedure the matter must end there," said Dr. Nkrumah. " We are ready to assume responsibility, to possess the right to order our own affairs and to decide our own future and destiny as citizens of a sovereign and independent State. Nothing can now stand between us and our objective but our own foolishness, our own vacillation, our own intolerance, our own doubt and distrust of one another."

He denied Opposition claims that the vote in recent elections, if considered regionally, showed a majority in favour of a federal form of government. It would make a farce of the election, he said, if it were held that because



254 AFRICAN AFFAIRS

57 per cent of Ashanti electors had voted against the Convention People's Party there was a case for partitioning the country, setting aside the majority will, and holding the country to political ransom.

The Assembly approved the Government's motion calling for independence by 72 votes to nil, all the Opposition members having boycotted the debate. Dr. K. A. Busia, leader of the Opposition, announcing he would lead a delegation to Britain to put their case for a new constitution before independence is granted, to the British Government.

Subject to the approval of the British Government, the Gold Coast will achieve independence within the Commonwealth and assume the name of Ghana on March 6 next year.

HE Preparatory Commission on the Volta River Project in the Gold Coast, whose report was published at the end of July, says that the project

can be regarded as technically sound and could be carried out successfully ; that it is not capable of significant improvement from an economic point of view, but that the greatest return from the scheme would be derived by achieving maximum production as soon as possible. The Commission further

Volta Project Report

concludes that the project should be competitive in relation to other schemes, provided that it was completed according to the time-table of construction; that a sound policy was adopted in the

employment and provision of living conditions for the labour force; that economic stability in the Gold Coast was maintained; and that the aluminium companies were satisfied that the internal cost of operating the smelter would be acceptable. The report also deals with factors such as the co-ordination of the future development plans of the Gold Coast Government, the maintenance of adequate administrative and technical services, the level of future world demand for aluminium, and future developments in the genera- tion of power from nuclear energy.

The Commission estimates that the scheme, based on two stages of aluminium production, would cost ?184,900,000 with a capacity of 120,000 tons per annum, rising to a total of ?231,300,000 with a capacity of 210,000 tons per annum. These estimates are calculated on prices ruling at September 30, 1955, and include capitalisation of interest accruing during the construction period. The estimates cover not only increased capital costs but also certain additional work which had not been provided for in 1952, when the cost of these stages of production was estimated at ?114,000,000 and ?144,000,000 respectively. Having surveyed several other big schemes in various parts of the world which have been undertaken in recent years, and having studied the largest construction jobs carried out in the Gold Coast over the past decade, the Commission has recommended that it would be prudent to allow for an increase of 40 to 50 per cent in the present estimates of the power project, railways, and smelter, so as to obtain a realistic appreciation of the




finances that might be needed for the project, which would take about eight years to bring into production.

The primary objective of the Volta River project is the production of about 210,000 tons of aluminium a year.

There are five essential parts to it : 1. The development of bauxite mines around Aya and Yenahin; 2. The construction of a dam and power installation at Ajena and the

creation of a very large lake; 3. The construction of an aluminium smelter and township near Kpong; 4. The building of new railways to link the mines with the smelter and the

smelter with Tema; 5. The completion of the port now being built at Tema. The project would take the form of a partnership between the Gold Coast

Government, the United Kingdom Government, Aluminium Limited of Canada, and the British Aluminium Company, and this would be a partnership, not only between private and Government enterprise, but also between three countries of the British Commonwealth. The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development might also participate in the scheme.

The Gold Coast Government would have a direct interest in all parts of the scheme. It would establish a Volta River Authority, which would be responsible for building the dam and power installation and co-ordinating the project as a whole, and, through its existing Departments, the Government would arrange for the construction of the new railways and roads and for the completion of the new port at Tema. (Work was started at Tema in 1954, since the port would be required whether the project went ahead or not.)

Statements issued by the United Kingdom and Gold Coast Governments, simultaneously with the publication of the Volta River Preparatory Com- mission's report, re-affirmed their interest, and that of the aluminium companies, in the project, though none of them is as yet committed to participating in it. All the parties have agreed that, because of the substantial increase in the estimated capital cost of the project, it will be necessary to review both the framework and the method of finance.

In a speech at Alexandria on July 26, the Egyptian President, Colonel Nasser, announced that the Suez Canal Company had been nationalized and

that the funds obtained from the operation of the canal would be used to finance the projected Aswan dam. In a statement issued in London on August 2, the Foreign Ministers of France, the United Kingdom and the United States pointed out that this act involved the arbitrary and unilateral

Suez Canal Question

seizure of an international agency, and that it threatened the freedom and security of the canal as guaranteed by the convention of 1888. They considered that steps should be taken to establish

operating arrangements under an international system, and to this end called an international conference which was held in London on August 16.



256 AFRICAN AFFAIRS

In his speech on July 26, Colonel Nasser attacked Britain and the United States and said that " imperialism began to plot and conspire round us in order to capture the Arab States one by one and thus encircle us from all sides." He ended his three-hour speech by reading the text of the nationalization law, which provided for nationalization of the company with compensa- tion to be paid " after completion of the hand-over to the State of all the funds and property of the company " (article 1), the establishment of an independent body " attached to the Ministry of Commerce " to undertake the management of the traffic in the canal (article 2), the freezing of " all funds and rights " of the company (article 3), the retention of all employees of the company, who must not leave their posts (article 4) on pain of im- prisonment and fine (article 5), and for the law to come into effect at once (article 6).

In a communique issued in Paris on July 30 the Suez Canal Company declared that it " does not recognize in any way the act of force directed against it by the Egyptian Government on July 26. Any requisitioning of the Company's personnel to execute forced labour by physical intimidation constitutes a violation of international law. .. . Any order given by the Egyptian Government or by its representatives to the banks holding funds belonging to the Company should be considered as null and void ".

In statements made in the House of Commons, the United Kingdom Prime Minister, Sir Anthony Eden, said that " the unilateral decision of the Egypt- ian Government to expropriate the Suez Canal Company, without notice and in breach of the concession agreements, affects the rights and interests of many nations " and that " no arrangements for the future of this great international waterway could be acceptable to Her Majesty's Government which would leave it in the unfettered control of a single Power which could, as recent events have shown, exploit it purely for purposes of national policy ".

A statement released by the United Kingdom Treasury on July 28, said that in view of the action taken by the Egyptian Government, the United Kingdom Government had issued two Statutory Instruments : the Control of Gold and Securities (Suez Canal Company) Direction, 1956, and the Exchange Control (Payments) (Egyptian Monetary Area) Order, 1956. " The effect of one," the statement continued, " is to subject to the full exchange control system, the cash, securities or gold held in the name of the company in the United Kingdom. The second is partly to supplement the first in protecting the assets of the company, and partly to take the necessary powers over all payments from or to the accounts of residents in Egypt." Similar action was taken in France, and the United States Treasury announced that it had temporarily placed the assets in the United States of the company and the Egyptian Government under licensing procedure.

The United States Government issued a statement on July 27 that the Egyptian action " carries far-reaching implications affecting, not only the owners of the company, but also the maritime countries and the nations whose products move through this international waterway ", and on the




same day the French Government also stated that the expropriation of the company, "without notice and in violation of the concessions, affects the rights and interests of a number of countries ". Discussions were held in London by the United Kingdom Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Mr. Selwyn Lloyd, the French Foreign Minister, M. Pineau, and the United States Deputy Under-Secretary of State, Mr. Murphy, and, subsequently, with the United States Secretary of State, Mr. Dulles, who flew to London on July 31.

The British Parliament was recalled to debate the Suez question after a mission from the London Conference of Canal Users presented their plans for a system of international control to President Nasser in Cairo. The Canal Users' Association, revived American support for Britain and France, and a qualified pledge to put the Suez question before the Security Council were the outcome of the debate at Westminster and a Press conference given by Mr. Dulles in Washington. Both Egypt and the Western Canal- Users' group have put their claims before the United Nations.

IN mid-July the Federal Power Board of Rhodesia and Nyasaland announced (to the chagrin of some) its award of the main civil engineering

contract for the damming of the Zambesi at Kariba Gorge and the construction of an underground power house to a group of four Italian firms and their South African and Rhodesian subsidiaries, who will now form a new company to be called Impresit (Kariba) (Pyt.) Ltd.

Kariba Contracts

The Italian group's price of ?25,278,000 was ?1,466,000 less than the next lowest tender and ?2,271,000 less than the third lowest; tenders were received from five separate groups of contractors.

Much of the preliminary work associated with the contract, such as the river diversion tunnel and coffer dam foundations, has been carried out by the Cementation Company of London. A temporary power plant of some 6,000 kW capacity and certain other constructional plant to be used in connection with the works and for the camps, will be obtained from the United Kingdom.

The Board has also awarded six electrical and mechanical contracts. The largest of these, for 925 miles of 330-kilovolt steel power transmission lines, was awarded to Rhodesian Power Lines (Pyt.) Ltd., the accredited Rhodesian counterpart of an Italian firm, for a price of ?9,935,844. In carrying out this contract, states the Federal Board's announcement, considerable quantities of British equipment will be used, notably toughened glass insu- lators and steel-cored aluminium conductors, estimated to be worth about ?4 million.



258 AFRICAN AFFAIRS

All other mechanical and electrical contracts were awarded to United Kingdom firms, as follows:

Metropolitan Vickers Elec- trical Export Company Water turbine driven generators ?1,772,065

Ferranti .. .. .. Sub-station transformers .. ?1,333,200 English Electric Company Generator transformers .. ?622,500 Boving & Co. Ltd. ..... Water turbines .. .. ?1,072,583 C. A. Parsons and Co. Ltd. Shunt compensating reactors .. ?191,920 Babcock and Wilcox Ltd. Overhead electric travelling

cranes .. .. .... ?108,292

?5,100,560

Before the award of these latest contracts, nearly ?11 million worth of contracts had been secured, mainly by United Kingdom firms and also by certain South African and Rhodesian firms, for preliminary works, housing, access roads, petrol and transport. The contracts secured by the United Kingdom firms include ?3.5 million to Richard Costain Ltd., for housing and associated works; ?1.6 million to the Cementation Company, for preliminary works at the dam site; ?1.5 million to the Shell Company of Rhodesia, for petrol and oil supplies ; ?608,720 to John Laing and Son, for access roads and railway sidings; and ?2 million to Kariba Transport Ltd., a subsidiary of the United Kingdom-financed Rhodesia United Transport Ltd., for the haulage of plant, equipment and materials from the railheads to the Kariba site.

The consulting civil engineers to the Board are an international group including the United Kingdom firm of Sir Alexander Gibb and Partners. The consulting electrical and mechanical engineers are Messrs. Merz and McLellan, of London.

At the end of June the International Bank announced a loan of $80 million (?28.6 million) to cover the foreign exchange costs of the first stage of the 1.2 million kW Kariba hydro-electric project on the Zambesi river in the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. This is the largest loan that the Bank has ever made for a single project. The loan will be made in United states dollars, pounds sterling, and in various European currencies. The United Kingdom will make ?10 million available for the loan from its subscription to the Bank's capital.

The total cost of the first stage of the Kariba project is expected to be ?80 million ($225 million). The rest of the finance needed, in addition to the Bank's loan, is to meet internal costs, including capitalized interest payments. To help with this the United Kingdom will also provide a loan of

?15 million through the Colonial Development Corporation and ?3 million from the Commonwealth Development Finance Company. Most of the balance required will be covered by the loans to the Federal Government that have already been announced. These comprise ?20 million from the copper



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mining companies of the Anglo-American Corporation and the Rhodesian Selection Trust Groups; ?4 million from the British South Africa Com- pany; ?2 million from Barclays Bank (D.C.O.); and ?2 million from the Standard Bank of South Africa.

The International Bank loan is for a term of 25 years, bearing interest of 5 per cent, and it will be guaranteed by the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland and by the United Kingdom. It is the third International Bank loan to the territories of the Federation : the first was one of $28 million to Southern Rhodesia in 1952 for electric power development ; and the second was one of $14 million to Northern Rhodesia in 1953 for railway development.

The full Kariba scheme comprises the installations needed for the genera- tion and transmission to consuming centres of 1.2 million kW of hydro- electric power. In the first stage of the scheme, now being undertaken, an arch dam will be constructed across the Zambesi River at Kariba Gorge, about 170 miles from Salisbury. The dam will have a height of about 400 feet above the foundations and a length of about 1,800 feet at the crest. The reservoir behind the dam will be 190 miles long, and 40 miles across at its widest point. Two underground power stations will ultimately be built, one on either side of the dam, and each equipped with six 100,000 kW units. In the first stage, one of the stations will be built and equipped with five 100,000 kW units. The first stage also includes the construction of a grid which will interconnect the major load centres in the Federation. A high- voltage transmission line will run 275 miles northward from Kariba to Kitwe, the main power switchyard in the Copper belt; and southwards to switchyards at Norton and Umniati, and thence to Bulawayo and to Salisbury, the two largest cities in the Federation. The combined length of the lines to the south will be 650 miles.

THE Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland's first merchant bank, The Merchant Bank of Central Africa, has been formed with the approval

of the Federal Treasury and the Central Bank. The members of the international group participating in the formation of this bank, are : Philip Hill, Higginson and Co. and N. M. Rothschild and Sons, both of London; the Rhodesian Selection Trust, Ltd.; Dillon Read and Co., of New York;

Copper in Rhodesia

de Rothschild Frdres, of Paris; Banque Lambert of Brussels; Messina (Transvaal) Development Co. Ltd., of South Africa; and Leben Investment (Rhodesia) Ltd., of Bulawayo. The chairman is

Sir Ronald Prain, of Rhodesian Selection Trust. The bank expects to open

Study of Basuto Boy The striking work opposite was modelled by Ralph Palmer the South African sculptor living in London at present. It is in the Imperial Institute's collection.

B



260 AFRICAN AFFAIRS

for business early in 1957. It intends to specialize in financing the movement of goods and raw materials, assisting the underwriting of internal Government loan issues, raising finance for establishment of new industrial and commercial undertakings, underwriting of public issues, and providing specialized investment advisory services to overseas investors on Rhodesian investments and to Rhodesian investors on overseas investments.

The Rhodesian Selection Trust (RST) group of copper mining companies have recently taken steps to bring about a very large increase in their production of copper on the Northern Rhodesian Copperbelt. One new mine has been opened; the opening of a second new one is planned; a third is to increase its production by 50 per cent; and the output of an electrolytic refinery is to be doubled. The chairman of RST stated that this new production would be dependent upon the successful completion of the Kariba hydro-electric scheme and the assurance of adequate rail facilities.

Earlier this year the Governor-General of the Federation opened the concentrating plant at Chibulma, near Kitwe, RST's newest mine. It is the first new mine on the Copperbelt to come into production since the beginning of the Second World War. About 480,000 tons of ore will be hoisted annually to produce 16,000 tons of copper and 500,000 lb. of cobalt. The capital costs of developing and equipping the mine have been about ?6 million, of which ?5 million has been advanced on loan by the United States Government through its General Services Administration.

RST plans to open a new mine at Chambishi, which will have an initial production of 16,000 tons. The ore body at this mine was discovered as early as 1902; a shaft sunk in 1931 was later abandoned when development at Mufulira, 20 miles to the north-east, proved sufficient for the resources of the available treatment plant. The development of this mine will involve the creation of an entirely new town in what is at present typical Northern Rhodesian bush country. Following the discovery of new ore bodies at the Mufulira mine, it is planned to increase by 50 per cent its present annual production of 83,000 tons. This will make Mufulira the largest copper mine in the Federation and one of the largest in the world.

The projected annual output from the electrolytic refinery now being built at Ndola is to be doubled to 110,000 long tons, at an additional cost of

?1? million. Ndola Copper Refineries, Ltd., was formed in 1954 as a subsidiary of Roan Antelope Copper Mines, Ltd. (a member of the RST group). Two thirds of its original ?3 million capital was provided by Roan Antelope and one-third by British Insulated Callender's Cables, Ltd. The additional ?1? million now required will also be provided by these two companies, in the same proportions. Initial production of 55,000 to 60,000 tons is expected to begin in 1958; it is hoped to reach the full production of 110,000 tons by 1960. Eventually nearly all the output from the Roan Antelope and Mufulira Mines will be electrolytically refined, so saving foreign exchange.

The Rhodesian Selection Trust has announced that it will finance the establishment of a 1,000-acre pilot farm and agricultural research centre on the Kafue flats, which stretch for 150 miles along the banks of the Kafue




river, in Northern Rhodesia. It is intended to work the farm for some years to obtain the information necessary before it would be prudent to embark on a full-scale development scheme. Under such a scheme it might be possible to bring 450,000 acres under cultivation and produce wheat, barley, rice, milk and meat worth about ?30 million a year.

The decision to establish a pilot project was taken after a report made for RST by Dutch scientists, who have investigated the potentialities of the area, and after consultation with the Northern Rhodesian Government.

Continuing labour troubles on the Copperbelt led to the declaration of a state of emergency there in late September. There were some incidents, none serious, and no loss of life resulted from clashes between police and strikers. The situation was reported to be normal about two weeks after the emergency was declared. An emergency was declared throughout Southern Rhodesia to deal with a strike of African railwaymen for more pay, The strike was only a partial one, and the emergency was quickly lifted.

DURING the year 1955-56, the United Kingdom contributed a record amount of almost ?16.7 million towards development and welfare

schemes in the United Kingdom dependencies. Of this sum, ?1.4 million was for research. The total amount issued under the United Kingdom Colonial Development and Welfare Acts during the ten years ending March 31, 1956, was ?117,897,203, of which ?10,392,150 was spent on research.

New grants approved during the year included Record

Colonial Aid ?5,285,552 for education (higher education account- ing for ?2,466,967 of this amount), ?5,955,178 for roads, ?1,049,809 for civil aviation, ?3,979,956 for

agricultural and veterinary schemes, ?2,812,329 for medical and health services, and ?3,208,564 for water supplies and sanitation projects. Research grants approved during the year included ?819,495 for agriculture, ?332,701 for medicine, ?139,281 for locust control and ?281,182 for social science.

Grants were approved totalling ?111,850 for the University College of East Africa, of which ?103,600 was granted for the construction of a new chemistry laboratory. For Kenya, a grant of ?1,653,370 was made for the intensification of African agricultural development and of ?155,000 towards the construction of the Technical College, Nairobi. Grants to Tanganyika included ?182,339 for African urban housing and ?451,890 for water development and irrigation schemes. In Central Africa, the University College of Rhodesia and Nyasaland was granted ?1,050,000 for the construction of permanent buildings.

In Nigeria, the Federal Government was granted ?1,500,000 for the development of trunk roads. For the Northern and Western Regions, grants totalling ?1,748,756 and ?1,204,840 respectively were made towards various schemes in their development plans. Rural water supplies development in the Eastern Region received ?1,312,500.

Research schemes attracting grants totalled 133, and covered a wide field. They included provision of ?40,100 for the maintenance of the Anti-Locust Research Centre, ?43,100 for the West African Building Research Institute.



262 AFRICAN AFFAIRS

The total commitments under the Acts from April 1, 1946, to March 31, 1956, amounted to ?147,681,582, of which ?145,477,344 took the form of rants and ?2,204,238 the form of loans.

IN a recent speech, Lord Malvern, Prime Minister of the Federation of Rhodesia, indicated his dissatisfaction with the international status of his

country, and criticised the Colonial Office for its attitude on this question in discussions he had in London during the recent Commonwealth Prime Ministers' conference.

Lord Malvern said: " Other countries in Africa and other federations

Status of Rhodesia

elsewhere are rapidly approaching complete independence either within or without the Common- wealth-much more quickly than we would all have thought two or three years ago. It now seems

likely that in the near future other countries will have international status that would entitle them shortly to apply for full membership of the Common- wealth and thereby gain higher status than ours both internationally and in the Commonwealth despite the fact that we in this part of the world, both through the Prime Minister of Southern Rhodesia and through the Prime Minister of the Federation, have been represented at Commonwealth conferences for over 20 years. I came to the conclusion that the electorate of the Federation just would not stand for such a state of affairs, and that feelings on this issue would run very high. This could have the effect of all political parties concentrating on purely constitutional issues to the detriment of our main task, which is the economic development of this part of the world.

" When we entered into Federation we had certain understandings both written and unwritten, and certain pledges were made both to territories and to Africans which we could not contemplate dishonouring. I would therefore like to emphasise right away that it has at all times been our object to honour in full all such pledges, undertakings and obligations. The protected status of the Africans in Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland must be safe- guarded. The autonomy and powers of the territories must remain for the time being exactly as they are at present until a general review of the Constitution."

Lord Malvern said his proposals would not alter either the position of the territories or the division of legislative powers of the Federation and the territories in the slightest degree.

" The proposals were simply this, that the United Kingdom Government should confer upon the Federal Government and Parliament complete independence in their own sphere only: that the Constitution should be amended accordingly but only to the extent necessary to achieve this: and that simultaneously the Government of Rhodesia and Nyasaland and the Government of the United Kingdom should enter into a treaty embodying all those safeguards which at present reside within the Federal Constitution. Those provided by the territorial constitutions would not be affected.

" The position would in effect be exactly the same as it is to-day, but with




one difference, that we would be technically independent. Reservations in the treaty would constitute a voluntary relinquishment of sovereignty by the Federal Government which would not detract from our independence because all treaties which impose obligations automatically entail the for- feiture of sovereignty to the extent of obligations. By these proposals the positions of territories would not be affected one way or other. Safeguards for Africans would remain the same and pledges about amalgamation and protected status would be observed just as they were before.

" My object was merely to improve our international status vis-a-vis other countries outside the Federation. This would have enabled us to talk to other countries as a separate State and not as someone else's child.

" When in London I discussed these proposals with the two Secretaries of State. Their first stand was to deny that it was legally possible for the Federal Government and Parliament to be independent in their particular sphere so long as two of the territories were under the ultimate control of the United Kingdom Government. I could not accept that argument for one minute-it was in total contradiction to advice we had received at the time of the conferences and to the understanding on which Southern Rhodesia agreed to come into the Federation. We therefore had a meeting with the Constitutional Adviser to the previous conferences who was able to clear this point up. I am satisfied that we have made our position plain beyond doubt and that constitutionally there is no obstacle to the granting of independence to the Federation, by which I mean that part under the control of the Federal Government and Parliament in their spheres only, whatever may be the relationship between the United Kingdom Government and the Territorial Governments.

" If the talks achieved nothing else they were of value in clearing the matter up once and for all. The second argument used was that our proposals amounted to a review of the Constitution, which could not take place before 1960. Here again, there is no substance whatever in this argument. Our proposals were designed to amend the Constitution in one respect only which did not conflict with Sections 98 or 99 of the Constitution but to substitute for the three reservations in the Federal Constitution treaty which would, if accepted, create independent international status for the Federal Govern- ment and Parliament. All other points of this complicated document, including the division of legislative powers, would still fall to be reviewed in 1960. Thirdly, the United Kingdom suggested that our proposals were contrary to pledges given in the United Kingdom Parliament at the time their Bill was passed. Here again, I disputed that because these pledges were related to amalgamation and to the protected status of certain Africans. These matters would be entirely unaffected by our proposals. As an alternative to my proposals the United Kingdom Government first of all offered to grant a few minor improvements which I told them would not be acceptable as they would not achieve my object of improving our status. We then had more talks and they finally agreed to submit further proposals which I understand, are likely to fall far short of mine.



264 AFRICAN AFFAIRS

" You may ask why the United Kingdom Government has taken up such an attitude to what I can conscientiously claim are very reasonable requests. I think one strong reason underlying this is that there has been a deliberate campaign in the Colonial Office and Colonial Service circles to represent every proposal by the Federal Government as being a step to get amalgamation by the back door. This is a most poisonous suggestion, and without any shadow of foundation. But I have every reason to believe that it is the view both strongly held and represented in the circles I have just mentioned, and which could not fail to prejudice anything we may try to achieve. I do not think we could ever get very far with people who feel we are out to behave in such a dishonest way.

" It might be argued that our proposals to transfer the safeguards to the treaty are worthless because a treaty means nothing and can always be torn up. This would be a grave accusation to level. We at present have a Consti- tution which depends very much on both sides playing the game according to the rules. Nothing but a most extreme crisis in our relations with the United Kingdom Government, which could only be caused by some colossal folly on their part, would permit us to consider violating such a treaty freely entered into. If any such crisis did arise then I am afraid that even the Constitution would be no greater guarantee than would the treaty. In my talks in London there were two associated matters which I must mention for the sake of completeness. The first one was that of franchise and citizenship. You all know that we are working hard on these two matters and are anxious to produce a Federal franchise which will be a statesmanlike measure conceived in a liberal spirit with the idea of giving all races the opportunity to participate whilst introducing the more backward section of the community gradually to the idea of a democratic electoral system so that we can indicate to them how their influence may grow in the future as their capacity to participate in the government of the country increases. It is not merely necessary that these proposals should be passed in the Federal Parliament with the necessary majority, but also that they shall command wide acceptance amongst the electorate. It is rather unfortunate that the two matters have coincided in point of time because a negative attitude of the United Kingdom in regard to our status is not likely to conduce to that favourable climate of opinion in the Federation on the question of franchise, which will be the necessary prerequisite to any forward looking franchise proposals. The other related matter was the question of representation of the Federation at the conferences of Commonwealth Prime Ministers. Before we can apply for full membership it will be necessary for the Federal Government and Parliament in its sphere to be independent. In view of the United Kingdom's attitude on this, the Commonwealth could hardly accept us as having the necessary status, but they did accept that we could continue to be represented by myself or my successors in office.

" In considering what our future action should be I would first of all like to propose that above all we should do nothing which would affect the stability of the Federation which is so important from the point of view




of the investing public. After all our primary aim is economic development and to raise the standard of living of our inhabitants, whatever their race. No amount of increased status or political advancement can compensate for the lack of development or low standards of life. Except for a few extrem- ists bread is much more important than the vote, whether it be for election to Parliament or in the Commonwealth club. I would go on to suggest that we should at present do no more than await the proposals which the United Kingdom are preparing for us and give them every consideration. After all they are bound to represent some advance."



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