Page 77 - Afrika Must Unite

62 AFRICA MUST UNITE

The unrest which prevailed in certain parts of the country at
the launching of our independence was not made any less by the
provisions relating to the setting up of Regional Assemblies and
the powers to be invested in them. The British negotiators of our
constitution were more amenable to the federal aspirations of the
Opposition than to the C.P.P. which represented the wishes of
the majority of the people. The Opposition view was prompted
by motives of political separatism, and these were reflected in the
constitutional clauses relating to the establishment of Regional
Assemblies.
In the same way, every opportunity was provided by the con­
stitution for cramping our development endeavours. In com­
munications, for instance, the Government might decide on a
trunk road that would pass through several Regions. Opposition
by the Regional Assembly of one affected Region could hold up
the project indefinitely. As part of its national health scheme, the
Government might determine the sites on which hospitals and
clinics should be built. The Regional Assemblies could object to
and obstruct these plans, in keeping with their constitutional
authority over the regional health and medical services.
It was laid down that ‘in each Region there shall be a Head of
the Region, who, except in the case of the Ashanti Region, shall
be chosen by the House of Chiefs in the Region’. No democratic
principle was to be employed but use made instead of the out­
moded procedure current under the colonial system of Indirect
Rule which gave authority to compliant chiefs. If the chiefs of a
certain Region happened to be opposed to modern health
methods and medical practices, they could effectively block any
Government programmes involving up-to-date treatm ent of
disease in their area, for the restrictions of the constitution would
safeguard them. Extend this to education, public works, housing,
agricultural and industrial development, and it can be accepted
that the central Government would have been in the position of
possessing merely token sovereignty. O ur hands and feet would
be virtually bound the moment we attem pted to govern.
The ground, it can be seen, was well laid for the promotion of
disunity and fragmentation. The clue to the British purpose was
really contained in the phrase, ‘except in the case of the Ashanti
Region*. Throughout the provisions relating to Regional