17 48 The economist of September 14th carried the following report:
"Doubtless the significant increase in ths amount of private foreign capital invested in Ghana during the past year means a certain depart— ure from the government's original socialist aims, <A sum of £70 million has boon promised for the construction of an aluminium smelter at Tema, and £8 million for o new oil refinery, Frivate investment of thease dimensions will obviously have a considerable effect in what is still an agricultural economy; but the government maintains that, since its first priority is rapid economic growth, the limited public capital available should be supplemented from private sources, Apart from making a “departure from socialism" in Ghanaian policy, the rise in investment has a further signifiicwnss: it shows that private investors have increasing confidences in Ghana's political stability and growth prospects.
Politically, this confidence would not have seemed justified even & year ogo, when the atmosphere wes troubled. The sxpulsion of Bishop Rose vare suggested that the government was noar to paranoia, while the attempt to assassinate President Nkrumah at Kulungugu,and the other bomb explosions that followed, were taken as evidence of a strong opposition movement, The arrest, trial and conviction of the bombthrowors, and the detention of Mr, Adamafio and Mr, Ako=Adjei, the two ex-ministers whose trial has begun in Aeoora, did little to diminish the feeling abroad that the goverment was in trouble,
Dr. Werumah's personal position, and that of his government, now actually appear to have been reinforced, The attempt on the president's life set off a great demonstration of opinion in his favour, ond the foeling againet the arrested men was high. The opposition's resort to a mothod of a aasassination that involved the killing of a considerable mamber of people in the crowls waiting to see Dr, Nkrumah worked to its discredit, And the government's credit has been enriched by the fact that, instead of summary executions (there have been none since Dr, Nkrumah became president), a painstaking legal case was built up against the alleged conspirators before they were brought to trial in a special court in Accra, The cessation of the disturbances since they were arrested has also created a certain confid— ence in the efficiency of the security forces,
In order to understand the staWlity of the Nkrumah government, howover, one mist above all consider its economic policy. In 1961, when there was a sorious balance of payments crisis and Ghana's reserves had drepped to a dangerous level, the policy of quick development with heavy public investment locked like -erinding to a standstill, The ruthless "Kaldor" budget of that year reinforced the impression that the economic situation was grave; tut it now looks as if this budget largely redressed the situation. The reserves h-ve been stabilised around £70 million, With the further supplement of private capital the rapid development policy may even gain added impetus, The Akosombo hydrceelectric scheme is now apparontly ahead of schedule and is expected to be completed in 1965. It will supply power for the new Tema aluminium smelter, which, it is hoped, will become a pivot of the country's industrialisation and be a step to breaking the country's alarming dependence on the fluctuating world cocoa market,"