Page 133 - Afrika Must Unite

C H A P T E R F O U R T E E N

B U I L D I N G S O C I A L I S M I N G H A N A

W h e n I s a t d o w n w ith m y p a rty c o lle a g u e s after in d e p e n d e n c e
to e x a m in e o u r u rg en t p rio rities, w e fra m ed a sh ort list. W e m u st
a b o lish p o v e r ty , ig n o r a n c e , illite r a c y a n d im p r o v e ou r h e a lth
serv ices. T h e se w ere d ire ct a n d sim p le o b jectiv es n o t e x a c tly
a m e n a b le to le g isla tio n . In o u r situ a tio n th e y w ere fo rm id a b le
lo n g -te r m o b je ctiv es in v o lv in g th e e lim in a tio n o f so cia l ills w h ic h
h a v e tro u b led th e w o r ld sin ce th e b e g in n in g o f h isto ry a n d still,
in v a r y in g d eg rees, p la g u e a ll th e co u n tries o f th e g lo b e .
Delegations, official and semi-official, travel abroad from time
to time, examining what other countries have to offer us in the
way of experience and knowledge that can be applied to our
circumstances. I m aintain that there is no universal pattern for
industrialization that can serve as an absolute model for new
nations emerging out of colonialism. Looking around, we find no
examples that are identical. European countries stretched their
industrialization over a much longer period and in a different
economic, scientific and social epoch. The United States cleared
virgin land and used slave labour to amass its prim ary wealth.
It has a geographic span that gave it special opportunities for a
rapid industrial expansion and large-scale manufacture. The
Soviet Union, starting from practically nothing, covering a vast
land mass with manifold resources, swept away the former
bureaucracy, and employed an authoritarian dictatorship to
achieve its purpose.
Frequently, the nearest models are those countries, like Japan,
or China, or India, that have made or are making their industrial
revolution against conditions more nearly approximating to
our own and in a time cycle closer to ours. India and China
cover huge stretches of land and have excessive populations.
Japan, though much smaller, has also created a population that