AF files, lot 58 D 562, “Correspondence–1955: BCA Federation”
The Consul General at Salisbury (Steere) to the Director of the Office of African Affairs (Utter)
official–informal
Dear John: I have been at the new post now for just over two months. That is not very long, yet I think it is time that I pass along to you, while they are still fresh, some of the chief impressions that are beginning to form in my mind.
- 1.
- Now that I have seen something of all three territories, I must say that the decision to form a Federation strikes me, above all, as having been a bold and imaginative action aimed primarily, with Southern Rhodesia as an anchor, at preventing Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland from going the way of the Gold Coast or Nigeria—or Kenya.
- 2.
-
The Federation decision is one from which there can be no voluntary turning back—nor is there now any great pressure to do so. Still the Federation leaders really “have a bear by the tail.” Fortunately, it is as yet only a cub bear, and therefore manageable. But this bear is growing rapidly, and if he is not subdued or tamed in time, there is going to arise, in my judgment, real danger to the Federation.
The bear the Federation’s leaders have by the tail is a territorially large and developing land which lacks the financial strength of its own to build, and build in time, the communications necessary to knit and hold this new country together. Its resources and credit are having to be used largely for other pressing needs on which direct and profitable returns can be demonstrated. It does not have or command sufficient resources to put into longer term projects, such as railroads and roads, the returns from which are largely indirect and lie in the future.
- 3.
- The lack of adequate communications constitutes a real jeopardy to the success of Federation. The existing three-year economic plan for communications does not contain provisions for some of the most urgently needed projects, and there appears, as yet, to be insufficient awareness of the urgency of action in these matters. Communications take years to build, and political pressures mount steadily on all sides, notably in the Copperbelt and Nyasaland. The economic benefits on which Federation was sold to Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland will not be realized in time, in my opinion, if communications are not greatly improved.
- 4.
- It seems obvious that additional money is going to have to be put into the Federation—not on a grant, but on a loan basis. What the Federation really needs at this juncture is a long-term foreign loan of, say, $100 million (if possible, at low interest and with repayment to start in, say, 10 years) for the exclusive purpose of putting its main communications in order and building some missing links. Such a loan would also do more than anything else, I believe, to encourage private foreign investors to put capital into this country. Taken together, such a loan, with foreign investments and other [Page 345] foreign loans which the Government has in view, would seem likely to tip the scales strongly in the direction of success for the new Federation. There is no need for me to say what a successful multi-racial undertaking in Rhodesia would mean for Africa and the West.
- 5.
- The Rhodesians, so far as I am aware, are not thinking in these terms at this time. But, I believe that events are likely to push them into recognizing the need for bolder, more foresighted action if the great vision of the Federation is to succeed. It is my hope, in writing in this vein to you, that it may trigger sober consideration on our part as to whether it is not greatly in our national interest, in the development of Rhodesia, to be not only generous in our aid but very farsighted and prompt to act. It is my view that we should at least begin to plan now.1
Sincerely,
- Utter responded on Dec. 2, 1954. He indicated, in part, that “The Federation’s lack of finances to further development projects is appreciated here, and so far, applications for assistance have already received a sympathetic hearing. In the last few years the U.S., either directly through FOA (or its predecessor ECA) and Ex–Im Bank, or indirectly through the IBRD, has loaned to territories now comprising the Federation more than $100 million largely for communications and power development projects. Whether additional loans for Federation projects could be arranged is not certain, but there are no indications that the ceiling has been reached as yet. This is a matter which I feel could be fully explored when the Federation appoints its representative to the U.S.” (AF files, lot 58 D 562, “Correspondence–1955: BCA Federation”)↩