Gold Coast - Economic report

RETURNI TO ARCHIVES IN HE31-001 ISN #1)WA ACC#i0W' _)Ni_ E< BO #_eX23a O NUS LOCATION K v 4)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~C l C Cil < ~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ld C U U .2 1 (j i  TNTROC,TJTTf\T T 1. The Gold Coast is a British dependency on the Guinea coast of West Afr Jca- 1 i ng at its nearest noint wit-h n 5 de- ee- of the e-uator. Tt has an area of 90,0O0 square miles and a population of about 44 million almost all of whom ae Afrvicae. T. ou a compa" tiv"ey .sm;all count.ry by African standards it has assumed an importance out of proportion to its 2. "--GldCa+ ',as b-ecome the s,Y-kuo'4 and example, good3 or badd accorU- ing to the point of view, of African aspirations to self-government. Political change has been very r-apid sinrce the war. in 1946 the Legislative Council in the Gold Coast Colony, the coastal region where half the popula- tion live, still had a majority- of officia members. Laws for the rest of the territory were enacted by the Governor. Now there is a 'eLislative Assembly Consisting almost entirely of elected African members who represent the whole territory. From its membership have been chosen an African ?rime Minister and a number of African Ministers with departmental responsibility. 3. The Gold Coast is, after Malaya, the largest contributor to the dollar pool of the sterling area. The principal source of dollars is cocoa, a crop in which the Gold Coast leads the world by a long way and which has commanded high prices since the war. To this are added gold, manganese and hardwood exports in important quantities. Though cocoa still dominates the economy, it is menaced by a disease known as swollen-shoot. 4. The Gold Coast contains the site of a proposed project, which, if it is undertalcen, will be one of the most important single enterprises in the economic development of the Commonwealth. The Volta River aluminium Scheme is designed to mine bauxite in the Gold Coast, to dam the Volta river for electric power, and to use the power to oroduce 210,000 tons of aluminium a year. The whole project with the railways and port facilities it reouires would cost at present estimates Fl44 million. It would be a joint enterprise of the Gold Coast Govarnment, the British Government, a Canadian company and, possibly, a British company. 5. At present the Gold Coast is very prosperous. But there is a general realization of the need to reduce its deperndence on cocoa, which, apart from the ravages of disease, is subject to highly volatihe shifts in rice. It is doubtful whether this can be done either simply or quickly. The Volta River project offers both long and short term benefits to the economv, and the present government is strongly in favor of it. It is probably too early to say how stable the government is or how firm it will be in pursuing a sound economic policy in developing the country.  -2- POLITICAL BACKGRGUJD Political Development up to 1950 6. Records of Euronean trade with the Gold Coast date back as far as the 15th century. Until the 19th century, however, the only EuroDean settlements were forts huilt to nroteAt mereantile interents on the coast. When the slave trade was abolished, trading became less lucrative and araduallyv a1 the remaining forts were sold to the Briti5h. Bv '87L British jurisdiction was established over the coastal region which occupies owe-fou rt-h of the whole territory anrd is now I non as the Go'd G s Ct.ol onn. 7. T.hrou,'U- -+ +1-e 9th - there lter minor wars with fh, A b-ati, a large tribe in the interior who were jealous of the protection afforded to their rivas on the coast. The last of t wra-s cullnad i -- tion of Ashanti in 1901. Shortly before a protectorate had been declared ov,er the prL4m1-ve nrt"Inern par-t of the ,rsn Uol Coas --hich- -s no-w JVL I'Jll t. LULL W.A VO .A.J X44 L 4. J.. U, OL. UAL p e e U G " C --&. ' 440 U * k WfJ.* 4-