AF files, lot 58 D 459, “Memoranda 1953”
Memorandum Prepared by the Officer in Charge of West, Central, and East Africa Affairs (Feld)1
It is necessary, in the budget justification for FY 1955, to say a great deal more about the situation in Africa south of the Sahara than has been said in past years. This is in order to correct the past tendency to understate the problems and needs of this vast, populous, strategic-material producing area, whose requirements are being made increasingly clear by the course of events.
The outbreak of Mau Mau terrorism in Kenya,2 which after a year of strenuous “Emergency” military measures is by no means under control, has created a dangerous situation in the increasingly important strategic area of British East Africa (population 20,000,000). This area is a highly important British military “flanking” position on the Middle East lifeline and provides the headquarters for the recently reconstituted East Africa Command stretching 2,000 miles from the South African to the Ethiopian border. This Command is being built up to compensate for the expected loss of the precarious Suez base area. The legacy of racial hatred generated by the Mau Mau movement will probably take years to alleviate, but the Free World cannot afford to lose this area.
Throughout the entire area of Africa south of the Sahara there is a very marked increase in racial and political tensions, reflected in some degree of political and economic instability. The opportunity afforded Communism to exploit these tensions to the disadvantage of the Free World makes it very important for the United States to give [Page 49] much more attention to the problems of this area. It should also be emphasized that this same area supplies a long list of strategic materials, such as uranium, cobalt, industrial diamonds, chrome, asbestos, copper, lead, manganese, to mention only a few, to the Free World. Any further deterioration in race relations and in the prospects for long range political stability in this enormous and diverse area would be very adverse to the interests of the United States.
It is obvious that the rapidity with which developments are taking place in the British West African territories of the Gold Coast and Nigeria (population 5,000,000 and 30,000,000 respectively), which are entering on the final stages of constitutional reform leading to complete self-government either within or outside the British Commonwealth, makes it important for the Office of African Affairs to pay much more attention to these two countries in particular and to West Africa in general. The recent elevation of the Consulate at Accra to a Consulate General, and the selection of a high ranking Consul General to this post, and the probability that the Consulate General will be elevated to a diplomatic mission in the relatively near future is a case in point.
Even more than has been the case in the post-war years, the increasing complexities of U.S.-Liberian political and economic relations require that more time and fuller consideration be given to them by AF and NEA officers, often at the highest levels. For example, AF and to some extent the highest levels in NEA are closely involved in attempting to work out solutions to the problems besetting the U.S. Point Four and economic loan program, in Liberia, as well as in assuring the best possible operation of the Port of Monrovia, and future financing for Roberts Field.3
The establishment on August 1, 1953, of the British Central Federation of the Rhodesia and Nyasaland, (population 6 million) which will enjoy almost complete autonomy and by the end of this decade is expected to attain full Dominion status in the Commonwealth, underlines the increasing political and economic importance of this area to Africa and the Free World. In recognition of this, the Department has already approved the assignment of a high ranking Consul General to the temporary Federal capital at Salisbury, Southern Rhodesia, and this officer is in process of selection. Due to the greater degree of autonomy now enjoyed by the Central African Federation, the Department is also considering elevating the status of its office at Salisbury from a Consulate General to a Diplomatic Agency.4
The present staff complement in the section of the Office of African Affairs which handles the countries of West, Central, and East Africa is not adequate. The Desk Officer handling British areas, for instance, [Page 50] alone has four very active areas to backstop, three of which are evolving towards complete self-government and, in time, will each probably require the services of individual desk officers. The areas covered by the officer handling French, Portuguese and Belgian territories are also becoming more active, both politically and economically. In French West Africa (16,000,000 population) political activity is in ferment with political movements taking definite shape and with extremely capable local political leaders coming to the fore. In the Belgian Congo (11,000,000 population) the Belgians, while still pressing forward with the economic development of the country, are giving more attention to the social and political development of the native. In the Portuguese areas (10,000,000 population) there are unmistakable signs of an economic awakening. In fact, there is present in all these areas political and economic dynamism which will no doubt increase with the passage of time.
The Liberian Desk Officer, who handles both political and economic problems, is completely occupied with many active operational and policy problems, which require the close attention of his superiors in AF and NEA up to the Assistant Secretary level.
While it might be possible in FY 1955 to maintain minimum coverage and backstopping for these areas with the present staff complement of the West, Central and East African section of the Office of African Affairs, it is not reasonable to expect that this can be continued in succeeding years. Inasmuch as the clerk-stenographer needs of the Officer in Charge and the four officers (three political and one economic) serving under him in this section who handle eleven field posts (one Embassy, seven Consulates General and three Consulates) in this area are directly related to the officer workload, the increasing responsibilities of these five officers warrant the addition of a file clerk (as previously recommended for FY 1954 but not authorized), to assist the one clerk-stenographer-receptionist actually assigned to this section at present. Before her services were made available on August 19, 1953, to fill a long-standing vacancy, as much as possible of the work of the entire section was done by another clerk-stenographer-receptionist, who is actually assigned to do the work of the Special Assistant for Economic Affairs who advises the Office Director. The only way the West, Central and East Africa section has been able to get all its typing work done during the past eight months was to delegate it on an ad hoc basis to clerk-stenographers assigned to the Office Director and to the North African section. Fortunately, these stenographers have had the time to assist the officers of the West, Central and East Africa section on most occasions when they were asked to do so.
- There are no indications on the source text, a carbon copy, how this memorandum was used or what other Department officers may have read it.↩
- For additional documentation on Mau Mau terrorism, see pp. 346 ff.↩
- For documentation on principal problems and policies in relations with Liberia, see pp. 482 ff.↩
- For documentation on the Central African Federation, see pp. 296 ff.↩