DEVELOPING AFRICA

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 62, 6 December 1919, Page 14

DEVELOPING AFRICA

FUTURE 01? GOLD COAST,

Extensive plans for the development of . tho Gold Coast of West Africa are to bo taken in hand by the new Governor, Brigadier-General P. C. Guggwberg. Speaking of his policy before his departure from England a few weeks ago the new Governor said;— Tho wealth df the agricultural product* of the Gold Coast is now so great that the existing railways are unablo to copo with the traffic to the coast, and as a result wo still have to rely on natives carrying loads on their heads, a tremendous waste of labour. It is'necessary to have a system of railways which ultimately will place all parts of tho Gold Coast, including Ashanti, and the Northern territories, within thirty or forty miles of a railway. Engineers, moreover, aro being sont out immediately l'roii( England to report on tho best situation for a deep-sea harbour, and it seems vorv likely that Hue will be in tho neighbourhood of Sekondi. Tho trado possibilities of tho Gold Coast aro enormous. Evidence of this is to bo found in tho one item of cocoa, our export of which is exactly haif of that of the wholo world. With regard to railway development tho completion of the lino from Aoora to Kumasi, a distanco of 200 miles through a very fertile cocoa country, has been approved by tho Colonial Office. The lino from Sekondi to Kumasi will shortly bo reconstructed, so-as to deal with the very heavy transport, and the survey of another lino from Kumasi to the Northern territories as far- as Tauialo and Gambagga has been approved. In fact tho Government is embarking on a yery comprehensive policy of transport, harbours, railways, and motor roads. The Gold Const will take over a portion of Togoland, which comes under our mandate under the League of Nations. In the Northern territories we have & promising country for the development of a great cattle industry, and special stock will bo sent out from England at an early date. Extremely important n/o to "tho steel and aluminium industries aro t'|j recent great discoveries in the Gold Coast of bauxito and manganese.

Tho strengthening of native- rule in cerhiin brunches coadministration within the boundaries of various tribes is tho chief point in the general policy of tho Government. Education in various teohnieal trades will-form a feature in this policy, and tho conditions of living of tho natives will gradually be improved by tho introduction of a" water supply and tho necessary drainage.