Page 112 - Afrika Must Unite

C H A P T E R T W E L V E

R ECO NSTRUC TIO N AND DEVELOPMENT

S t a t e s e m e r g i n g from colonialism face the gigantic problem
of transforming their almost purely trading and raw-material
producing economies into productive units capable of bearing
a superstructure of m odern agriculture and industry. We have,
all of us, a similar dearth of capital, trained labour and tech­
nically-skilled personnel to assist forward our development at
the pace which our objectives demand. O ur late start, and the
speed at which we must work if we are to modernize our coun­
tries, are bound in some degree to sharpen the stresses and strains
which have accompanied industrialization everywhere in the
world.
Every advance in methods of production made by the fore­
most industrialized countries increases the gap between them
and us. There is a theory that the countries which appear last
upon the industrial scene can automatically start at the latest
point of development reached by the most advanced. This
theory can only be applicable where the accumulation of capital
is great enough to make an effective take-off possible. Even in
those circumstances, there must also be available a literate popu­
lation able to provide a sufficient body of trained labour, and
managers to head and m an the evolving industrial machine.
These circumstances do not exist in Ghana. They do not exist
in any of the colonialized territories, where subsistence farming,
mono-crop production and extractive industries have dominated
the economy under the influence of financial and commercial
monopolies.
In Ghana, we have had to obtain technical knowledge and
staff from better equipped sources, and this process will continue
until we are able to produce a sufficient num ber of our own
experts. We are getting help from international bodies like